FOXY
by letters
Summary: Shizuo is but a simple bartender...with certain anger management problems.  Still, he gets by okay enough; until he meets a certain, black fox that turns his world upside down.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello, people! I have a confession, I'm not trying to create some literary work of art. I'm just having fun, and I hope you have fun reading it, too. I watched Durarara! when it first aired, and I just got the Aniplex DVD's this August, so I've just got DRRR! on the brain and wanted to try writing a story for it. I feel kind of guilty, because there are sooooo many Shizuo and Izaya fics already, but hopefully this one will be a little unique and worth reading just for funzies. It's kind of some strange twist on Beauty and the Beast, I guess. Enjoy!_

_-letters_

* * *

><p>Shizuo sighed deeply, as he stood smoking outside an upscale department store in Shinjuku, his arms heavily laden with shopping bags from the numerous stops they had already made. This really wasn't the way he had wanted to spend his Sunday, but Hisa had insisted she was almost ready to go home...about twenty times over the past five hours. He glanced at his watch. It was almost 17:00. He'd have to get home within the hour to get ready for work. Maneuvering around all the bags, he pulled his cell phone from his back jean pocket and dialed her number.<p>

"Shizuo!" her voice sounded light and airy, and he could hear the enormous clamor of women gaggling in the background. "You would not believe the sale they are having, today! You really should come in; you know I've been meaning to get you a new suit for when we have dinner with the wedding party!"

"It'll have to wait," he twisted his cigarette butt until the lit end fell to the ground and he smothered it with his shoe. "I have to work in two hours, remember?"

"Oh, no! You should have told me!" she half whined into the receiver. Shizuo wrinkled up his nose a little indignantly. He was pretty sure he'd mentioned it a few times. He could feel a familiar sense of annoyance rising, but quickly stomped it down. "Well, my love, just take the bags back to your place. I'll pick them up in the morning, kay-kay?"

"Sure thing. I'll see you tomorrow then," he forced himself to sound cheerful.

"And don't forget about your appointment at 10:00!" Hisa chirped.

"What?" he tried to stop his voice from dropping to a growl. It came dangerously close anyhow.

"Shizuo!" her voice suddenly took on a very chastising tone. "You know you have an appointment with Dr. Shinra every Monday morning. You can't get better unless you keep up with the therapy! And don't you dare miss it again!" That last bit came out in a hiss.

"I know, I know," Shizuo ground out. "I'll be there. I promise."

"Good! See you then, my love! Ta-ta~!" She hung up without waiting for his goodbye. Shizuo sighed heavily again and closed the phone to begin his walk back to the train station. That's when his stomach growled.

'Guess I really didn't have a decent lunch...' he thought. He glanced about and saw a small sushi bar where there wasn't too much of a line. Deciding he didn't want to deal with drunks at the bar all night on an empty stomach after a day of 'shopping', Shizuo made a beeline toward the tiny shop. Emerging moments later with plastic container full of a wide assortment of sushi, he resumed his walk home, popping a couple of pieces in his mouth ever so often. The delicious, fresh flavors soothed his irritable mood with every chew. It wasn't that he wasn't happy about marrying Hisa. In fact, he was quite sure he was looking forward to it. The sooner all this wedding nonsense she was completely obsessed with was over, the better. In fact, if he'd of known just how troublesome the whole affair would be, he probably would have never gotten engaged to begin with. But what's done is done, and Shizuo was a man of his word. Once he proposed and her parents begrudgingly gave their consent, there was no going back. He found comfort in his honor and consistency rather than his immediate happiness. If you work hard and always try to do the right thing, then surely your life will be a success. That's what he'd been taught and that's what he tried to live by. True, there were occasional slip ups, his most recent one being throwing a man out of a window at the bar. Tch! It was his fault! The rat bastard was drunk off his ass and wouldn't leave this poor girl alone. Noble though his intentions might have been, the fact that the window had glass still landed him in anger management classes by court order. Shizuo smothered the anger with another piece of fish wrapped around rice and another long sigh. It was then that he noticed a pair of bright, ruby colored eyes staring at him from behind a dumpster in a dark and narrow alley.

"What the f-," Shizuo startled, dropping a piece of ootoro from his hand. Damn! What a waste! That had to be the most expensive piece of his meal! But before he could bemoan his loss, a small, black creature scurried from behind the metal box and quickly snatched the piece of fish in it's mouth before running back into hiding. Shizuo stared, dumbfounded, as he barely caught a glimpse of a white tipped, furry tail. He looked to the same place, and saw the two shining, red eyes looking directly at him again. Slowly, a smile began to spread across his face.

"Hi, there..." he said gently, slowly bending his knees until he was low to the ground. "So, you like fish, huh?" The eyes merely blinked at him in response. He slowly tossed another piece of fish towards the creature. To his delight, a little black fox quickly darted from behind the dumpster and snatched up the offering. "Well, I'll be damned! A black fox? I didn't even know there were foxes around here!" Shizuo chuckled and threw another piece of fish. The little fox stepped out into the light again, taking it's time, now that it realized Shizuo wasn't a threat, as it ate. It looked up at Shizuo and gave a short bark. "Want some more?" Shizuo reached into the container. There was another short burst of a bark from the fox, as it padded within inches of him, dancing excitedly at the prospect. Shizuo laughed a little louder than he meant to. "It's almost like you can understand me!" he chuckled. This little fluff ball was certainly lifting his spirits. He tossed the last piece of fish and stood up, still grinning. "Well, see ya, Foxy." He resumed his walk to the train station and glanced over his shoulder. The fox was nowhere in sight. Shizuo let out a little sigh, not realizing he'd been holding his breath, before almost tripping over the very thing he'd been looking back to see.

The little fox sat directly in front of him, staring up at him with shining, red eyes. "What? You want to come with me?" Shizuo asked in disbelief. "Seriously? You know, most people and animals are pretty scared of me." He stooped back to the ground, and the fox barked and jumped in place. Shizuo just smiled and held out his hand. "Well, you do look kinda scruffy and like you could use some regular food...and definitely a bath. What do you say, Foxy? I could use a good pal right now." The fox took a hesitant step toward his fingers, and Shizuo gently began scratching behind the fox's ears. It let out a high pitched humming sound that was almost a purr. He felt a small surge of triumph as the fox leaned into his touch and even allowed him to pet his back. "Alright, it's settled, then! Come on!" He tapped his thigh with one of his hands and the fox climbed into his arms. "Let's get you home." The fox only made another high pitched trill in response. Shizuo gave it's ears another quick scratch before dumping the fox somewhat unceremoniously into one of the larger shopping bags. The fox gave a confused yip. "Sorry, Foxy. Don't think they allow your kind on trains." The fox let out an anxious low humming sound. "Just try to stay quiet," Shizuo whispered as they entered the train station. "I live in Ikebukuro. We'll be home in no time." Once again, as if the fox could understand him, it curled up silently in the clothes bag and didn't make a peep the entire ride home.

Shizuo opened the door to his small apartment and quickly set all of the bags in the living room on the couch. The little black fox seemed to have fallen asleep on their journey and tumbled out of the bag quite groggy and disoriented. Quickly regaining it's composure, the fox began smoothing out its ruffled fur and eyed Shizuo, who had gone to the fridge, somewhat expectantly. Shizuo took out a bottle of milk and began draining it slowly, without pause. After all, that little fox had eaten most of his dinner. The fox began to bark loudly and quickly jumped off the couch.

"Oh, you want some too, huh?" Shizuo laughed as he opened the cabinet to fetch a bowl. He could hear the clicking of the fox's toenails on the laminate flooring. Shizuo looked down to see those reddish eyes beaming at him again, and he smiled warmly, setting the bowl full of milk down. He watched for a moment, as the fox lapped hungrily at the dish, before heading towards his small bathroom to clean up and change. Hisa had often complained of the size. It was a good thing her parents were giving them a condo as a wedding gift, otherwise he'd probably go deaf from her wailing. He shook his head at the utter nonsense of it all, and began to wash his face. He felt, rather than saw, those shining eyes watching him again. He reached blindly for a hand towel and dried his face.

"Oh yes, a bath. Don't worry, I didn't forget," he told the little fox. He heard another excited bark. After he could see, Shizuo reached down and pulled the drain stop and then twisted the nozzle to a low heat setting before pulling it out. Water began to rush into the bathtub, and the fox began spinning in circles, barking. He picked the furry creature up and gently set him down in the rising water. The fox immediately flipped on its back, kicking it's legs and twisting it's body back and forth in the water, quickly clouding it with the dirt from it's fur. Shizuo whistled as he let the dirty water out and began to refill the tub.

"God damn, you're filthy! Sorry I don't really have any dog shampoo or anything. Maybe what I use will work?..." He grabbed his bottle of generic shampoo from the collection of containers in the corner of the tub, most of them belonging to Hisa from when she stayed over, and flipped open the cap. "What do you think?" He extended the bottle out to the curious, wet, black nose. The fox sniffed and shook it's head with a displeased grunt. Shizuo capped it and put it to the side. "Ok, no go. Guess that's just too manly for ya." It almost sounded like the fox snorted, but Shizuo knew that was just his imagination. "How about this one?" He held out some of Hisa's cucumber mint, abomination under the fox's nose, and received an approving yip. "Oh, yeah...You're definitely a chick," Shizuo muttered. He thought the stuff smelled awful, personally. After rolling up his sleeves, he squeezed a generous amount of the thickly scented shampoo into his hands and began to work it into a lather all over the little fox's body. The fox hummed happily throughout the process, until Shizuo quickly swept it under the running faucet. It made an indignant bark.

"Sorry for the quick rinse. I gotta get going." He lifted the fox out of the tub and set him on the bath mat to shake himself dry. Seeing the little thing with its fur all wet and matted together, Shizuo could tell just how small and skinny the creature really was. It couldn't have weighed more than a few kilograms. In fact, with it's tail completely flat, it looked more like some drowned rat and not really a fox at all! Shizuo couldn't stop himself from laughing at the sight. The fox put it's ears back and glowered at him with it's crimson eyes before trying to smooth down it's fur. "You look ridiculous, but don't worry, you'll dry off soon enough," Shizuo chuckled. He left the bathroom and quickly changed into his bar tending uniform, straightening his bow tie in the mirror. He could see the fox watching him curiously from the doorway of the bathroom in the reflection. Once dressed, Shizuo left his room and clicked on the t.v., setting the channel to some nature show, (He guessed that's maybe what foxes liked), and threw the remote on the couch. The fox came padding out his room and followed him into to the kitchen, where Shizuo put a dish of water on the floor. Then, it followed him to the front door, and sat watching him as he put his shoes on. After he was finished, Shizuo stood up and turned around to give the fox a little bow.

"See you later, Foxy. Try not to destroy my apartment. I'll be back in a few hours."

_"Bark!"_

"That's a good girl."

_"Rrrrrr..."_ The fox gave a low growl and scampered over to the couch, curling it's body into a little ball facing the screen. Shizuo blinked at the hasty retreat and smiled.

'I'll be damned...I got a fox from Shinjuku in my apartment...Who would have ever thought?'

The sheer novelty of it tickled him, and he walked to work feeling a good deal lighter than he had in a very long time.

* * *

><p>Shizuo whistled, as he polished the last of the glasses behind the counter. It was almost 2:00, and the bar would be closing in another hour. He wondered how his furry friend was fairing on it's own inside the apartment and grinned to himself. He hadn't told anyone about the fox. Not that Shizuo had many people he could tell. It wasn't that he was antisocial, per say. It was more that most people were far too afraid of provoking his legendary temper to ever carry on a conversation with him at length, and that made it difficult to make friends. It wasn't his fault people were so irritating. Dishonest and flaky, always making excuses, always taking the easy way out, he couldn't help but become angry listening to their ramblings, sometimes. The fact that his younger brother, Kasuka ,happened to be one of Japan's most popular rising stars was probably the only reason he was able to have this job. He'd been fired from all his previous ones and was bound and determined not to mess this one up. Although he felt justified every time he had let his emotions and fists run wild, he felt immense guilt from the embarrassment he surely caused his brother. And now he had his fiancée to consider. Hisa's parents were very respectable people; her father being a doctor and her mother a board member of several well known charities. He had to be even more conscious of his actions, lest they decide to rescind their approval. Once again, he was fairly certain it was only because of his brother that the family even considered him at all. That and for whatever reason, ever since he'd met Hisa at the premier of one of his brother's movies, she seemed to be everywhere. She was a very determined girl, and once she'd decided that Shizuo Heiwajima was the man for her, there wasn't really anyone who could talk her out of it, though he was sure her parents had tried.<p>

Shizuo glanced up when he heard the bell over the door and several familiar voices drawing near.

"Shizuo! Been a while!" The man's voice was friendly as he took his black cap off and tossed it on the bar counter while taking a seat.

"Kyohei," Shizuo gave him a nod. "What can I get ya?"

"Saki! HOT!" Erica piped up from her side conversation with Walker as they sat on the bar stools. Togusa yawned, pulling the stool out next to Kyohei.

"Saki sounds good," he let his head flop into his folded arms on the counter.

"Long night?" Shizuo asked, as he placed four small Saki glasses in front of them.

"Things have been a little hectic, lately," Kyohei rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he spoke. "It's chaotic between the gangs right now. There's a lot of suspicion and violence flying back and forth."

"It's because there's no more information," Togusa's voice was muffled against his shirt sleeves. "That lunatic went and disappeared." Kyohei nodded in agreement.

"I kind of always thought that guy caused more trouble than anything, but now that he's gone, things are really screwy around here. Wonder if this is all some sort of plot he's hatched up..."

"Who are you talking about?" Shizuo asked, placing the warm bottle of Saki on the counter top after he'd poured their glasses full.

"Izaya Orihara," Kyohei took the glass, swirling the liquid around before he downed it in one gulp.

"Never heard of him," Shizuo gave his bar towel a snap before fluidly tucking it in behind his belt.

"Waaah, Shizuo! That was sooo cool!" Erika gushed, her eyes sparkling. Walker was right there with her on cloud nine, as always.

"It was the complete lack of interest combined with such a sharp, exact gesture!" Walker explained, clapping his hands together joyfully. Shizuo's eyebrow twitched. "He's just like that vampire hunter guy! You know, the one with the sword and-"

"The one by Hideyu-"

"No! It was that lady-"

"Alright, otakus, take it easy," Kyohei warned with a smile before directing his attention back to Shizuo. "Nah, I'm sure you never would have had a reason to deal with Izaya. That guy only dealt with the underworld, real nasty stuff. I heard he even had dealings with the Yakuza."

"Hmph. Sounds like a real scumbag," Shizuo muttered, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. He wasn't really supposed to smoke in front of customers behind the bar, but Kyohei and his friends were the only ones there, and he'd known Kadota since high school.

"Oh yes," Kyohei affirmed. "Indeed. But...I don't know...it's kind of not the same without him. I mean, sure he was terrible, but he definitely brought a lot of character to the city. I know nobody really liked him, but...you know, it's just weird!"

"I'm sure the police will find him, soon," Shizuo offered, noticing right away that his friend was really more distressed than he was letting on. To his surprise, Kyohei laughed loudly.

"Oh, I doubt it! I don't think they'd want anything to do with that guy or what he was mixed up in."

"Maybe that serial killer got him!" Walker whispered to Erika quite loudly. Shizuo's ears perked up.

"Serial killer?" He breathed out a steady stream of smoke. "What's this about?"

"You don't know, Shizuo?" Erika sounded surprised. "It's been all over the news!"

Togusa lifted his head with a yawn. "Oh yeah, some nutjob's been running around shooting people execution style, no mercy. Ka-POW!" He brought his fingers up to the side of his head in the shape of a gun, pulling the 'trigger'. Shizuo scowled.

"A gun? Tch! What a coward! What kind of gun?"

"Looks to be some sort of magnum pistol, .44 mm," Kyohei said as he poured himself another glass.

"No way..." Shizuo took another drag off his cigarette. He could see someone running rampant with a shot gun, maybe, but such a lethal small arm? "How'd he get one of those in Japan, anyway?"

"No idea...Izaya would have known..."

"Buuut he's probably dead in a dumpster somewhere!" Erika sing-songed. Shizuo shrugged.

"That's what you get for being complete scum and dealing with the Yakuza," he affirmed.

The gang soon finished the bottle and waved their goodbyes as they left. Shizuo locked the door behind them, turning off the neon "Open" sign and quickly began counting out his drawer. Izaya Orihara... Shizuo knew there were all sorts in this strange, bustling city, but this guy had sounded like a real piece of work.

'It's probably a good thing I never met him,' he thought as he locked the door on his way out. 'I probably would have punched his lights out.' But this serial killer, now that was bad business. It occupied most of his thoughts on the way home. As he kicked his shoes off inside the front door of his apartment, he was surprised to hear the voice of a news anchorman emanating from the glowing screen on the t.v.. That was odd...he could have swore he left it on the nature channel. The little, black fox had dragged some of Hisa's new clothes out of one of the bags and made a nest of sorts. Since it was September, the nights had begun to get a bit chilly. The fox was curled up in the middle of the small pile, fast asleep, a tiny paw still resting on the remote.

'Well, I'll be damned...'

Shizuo guessed the little thing had inadvertently changed channels while it moved about on the couch. He sat down next to the fox and gently pet it's head as he read the headlines scrolling across the screen. Like Kyohei and his gang had said, most of it pertained to this serial killer. Apparently, whoever it was had a penchant for killing people that were a little eccentric themselves. One victim had been a college drop out that hadn't left his small apartment in over a year. Another had been a woman who had had plastic surgery 23 times. And yet another was an infamous gang member who had apparently been part of an execution committee for the Yakuza before he himself was offed. Shizuo leaned his head back on the couch, letting his hand rest on the fox's back. Seemed like the victims weren't anybody this world would miss too much, but still...killing was wrong. He vaguely wondered if he'd be seeing Izaya Orihara's name on the list in the next couple of days. He yawned, suddenly realizing how tired he was. The fox stretched it's legs with a funny grunting sound, before curling into an even tighter ball than before. Shizuo smiled and lifted his new pet onto his lap. The fox woke with all the movement and lifted it's head to stare at Shizuo with half lidded, sleepy eyes.

"Hey, Foxy," he muttered, as he resumed petting it's head. "What do you think about this serial killer, hm?" The fox glanced at the t.v. for a moment and gave an exaggerated yawn, showing every white, pointed tooth, before curling back up to sleep. Shizuo chuckled. "Yeah, me too." And together, they drifted off into a deep slumber.

* * *

><p>Shizuo awoke with a start, nearly sending the fox, which was still on his lap, tumbling to the floor. "Oh shit!" he muttered, quickly glancing at his watch. 09:45. "OH SHIT!" The fox quickly scampered out of his way as Shizuo practically sprinted into his bathroom. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, GOD DAMMIT, I'M LATE!" he roared, quickly running a brush through his hair and squeezing way too much toothpaste on his toothbrush. In his manic state, he almost thought he heard the sound of laughter drifting in from the living room. Shizuo shook his head and quickly rinsed out his mouth. He'd just have to wear his work clothes from the night before. Hopefully Dr. Shinra would understand. He raced to the front door and reached for his shoes.<p>

_"Hey! Neanderthal!"_ Shizuo froze when the slightly annoyed, mocking voice reached his ears. He slowly looked over his shoulder to see the fox standing in the center of the living room, using it's back foot to scratch behind an ear. _"How about breakfast before you dash out to do whatever inconsequential, monotonous human things you have to do?"_

Oh god...he was so wound up from being late that he was hallucinating. Shizuo used the wall for support as he slowly got to his feet and continued to stare at the fox with wide eyes. It just blinked at him, and tilted it's head to the side. Shizuo shook his head with a laugh.

"Okay...I need to calm down," he told himself. He looked at the fox again. "Let's get you some breakfast."

Shizuo quickly scanned his fridge and took out a bottle of milk and some egg rolls from takeout a couple of days ago. After the fox was happily lapping away at the milk, he dashed out the door. Dr. Shinra was just about to leave his office when Shizuo came sprinting up.

"I...am so...sorry I'm late," he wheezed, completely out of breath. Dr. Shinra smiled and pushed the door back open.

"Shizuo! I knew you wouldn't disappoint me! After all, that's part of your problem!"

"Wh-...what?"

"Ha ha! You need to stop smoking so much! Come in, come in! I had a BREAKTHROUGH last night about your case!" Shizuo nervously complied and sat on the leather cushioned sofa across from the doctor, who was a little too excited for his liking. "Okay! Here is your problem! You're too concerned about what other people think!"

"Excuse me?" Shizuo was pretty sure this quack doctor had finally lost it.

"Hear me out, hear me out!" Shinra pleaded, holding up his hands. "Okay, it's like this. You think your brother is perfect, and you've got...issues..., right?"

"Yeah," Shizuo nodded. Sounded right so far.

"And I mean really BIG issues!" Shinra threw up his hands almost gleefully. "Like, chucking people through glass windows, not being able to hold down a steady job-"

"I get it!" Shizuo growled. "Just get on with it!"

"Well, don't you see? It's a cycle with you! You can't accept your faults, so you try to stuff them down, but that only makes them surface more violently. And then you feel guilt, and let the people around you control your life, but this only produces more frustration, which leads to you losing your temper again."

"I do not let people control my life!" Shizuo objected.

"Oh really? Tell me more about Hisa, then. You never talk about her."

"What?"

"Your fiancée! Tell me how much you love her! How much you love doing activities with her! When was the last time you both had sex and who initiated it?"

"H-HEY!" Shizuo ground his teeth, blushing furiously. "That's personal!"

"I wonder...or maybe you just don't have that much to say about her. Maybe she's just another thing in your life you're going along with because you think that will make the people around you happy."

"That's utterly ridiculous!"

"'Oh, look at Shizuo! He finally settled down and got married! He's a respectable adult!~'" Shinra mocked, clasping his hands dramatically next to his face. Shizuo was about to blow a fuse. He didn't know how the hell this guy got to be the residing physician over anger cases. Seemed like one of his patients would have killed him by now. As it was, Shizuo felt his fist unconsciously drawing back. He noticed when he saw all of the color drain from Shinra's face as he reached his hands up to shield himself. "Oh, god, Shizuo! Don't kill me! There's a method behind the madness, I swear!"

Shizuo gave a long sigh and let his hand drop. He didn't know why he found these sessions so draining. "It's...It's not true," he said again, but there was no conviction behind his words.

"Mmm, just give it some thought, will you?" Shinra had returned to his normal, upbeat self almost instantly and began scribbling furiously on a clipboard. "And you were early today, just so you know." Shizuo gave him a small smile of appreciation. "So, anything new in your life?"

"I got a new pet, yesterday."

"Oh, wonderful! Pets are very therapeutic!" Shinra nodded his approval. "Anything else you'd like to tell me?"

"Not really."

"Ok, then. I think you've taken up enough of the government's time today, and I have another patient in a few minutes, so you are released."

Shizuo gave him another nod and rose from his seat. He had a feeling that Dr. Shinra was unconventional to say the least, and he probably broke more than a few rules, but he was a good person who really did try to help people. And as busy as he always was, so busy that he couldn't ever reschedule appointments, he must have had a lot of people to help. As he reached the office door, a thought occurred to him.

"Doctor...?"

"Yes, Shizuo?" He glanced up adjusting his glasses with a wide smile.

"Have you ever heard of someone called 'Izaya Orihara'?"

Shinra burst out laughing. "Yes, indeed. I hear about him all the time! In fact, I'll warrant he's the reason at least 25% of my patients are in anger management! Why do you ask?"

"Someone said he was missing."

"Missing?" Shinra frowned. "Hmm...that's too bad. I hope none of my patients finally snuffed him out like they were always threatening."

"What did he do that pissed so many people off? Wasn't he just an informant?"

"Mmm, yes, but Izaya was a special breed. You could say that he liked to play with people, and he could be a little cruel. I'm not surprised if he's finally met his end."

"Thanks, doc." Shizuo put on his sunglasses and gave a wave as he left. He couldn't help but think about Shinra's 'breakthrough' on his way home. Did he care too much about what other people thought? Shizuo knew he wanted his brother's approval, but beyond that, he hadn't really paid attention. This made him feel even lower for some reason, as he slowly unlocked his front door. Quite a sight greeted him as he twisted the door knob and opened it.

"Shizuo! Thank god you're here! What the hell is this thing?" Hisa practically screamed. She and the fox were in a stand off of sorts with the fur ball holding one of her new sweaters hostage, as Hisa jabbed at it with a broom. It's growled, gnashing it's teeth into the sweater and batted the broom away with it's paw.

"Put the god-damn broom down, woman!" Shizuo yelled, quickly yanking it out of her hands and tossing it aside. "You're scaring her!"

"Heiwajima Shizuo!" Uh-oh...she was using his formal name... "Why the hell is this thing in your house? And why is it destroying my clothes?"

"It's, well...I found her on the way home last night," Shizuo scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "She was just so cute, that I took her home, I guess. I'm sorry about your clothes. I'll pay for them."

"As if! You probably don't even have that much in your bank account, Shizuo!" she huffed, folding her arms. "And I want this ugly thing gone by tonight! Do you hear me? I'm not joking!"

The 'thing' in question ran behind Shizuo's leg, and barked menacingly. Shizuo picked the fox up and was surprised as it seemed to actually cling to his shoulder, almost desperately. He patted it on the back, smoothing down the hairs that were bristling with rage. He could feel it trembling from all of the excitement.

"No..."

"What?"

"I said NO!" Shizuo yelled. The fox whipped it's head around and barked in affirmation.

"Shizuo..." Hisa's eyes grew wide before narrowing into angry slits. "You're so stupid!" she spat. "Here, I'll make it simple so even a dummy like you can understand! It's either me, or that disgusting creature!" Shizuo didn't even try to conceal his anger. His right fist shot out to his side, punching a clean hole through the wall, but he said nothing. Hisa seemed unfazed by his display. She calmly collected her purse and undamaged clothing and brushed past him. "Remember, I said GONE! And I mean it!" She left, slamming the door behind her. As soon as she left, Shizuo's shoulders slumped in defeat, as he slowly lowered the fox to the ground. The fox looked at him quizzically, as Shizuo bent down and pet it, sadly.

"I'm sorry, Foxy," he began.

_"Oh, no, no, no! Don't tell me you're going to actually listen to that absolute bitch of a woman!"_ Shizuo froze, turning white as a sheet at the sound of the sneer reaching his ears. _"You really are a dumb neanderthal! If someone talked to me like that, they'd be getting acquainted with two cinder blocks at the bottom of Tokyo Bay!"_

Shizuo was wide eyed with terror, and he licked his lips as he stared at the fox, now scratching under it's chin with a back paw. "Are you...are you really talking?" The question barely came out above a strangled whisper.

_"Yes, you silly human, you. And for the record, I am decidedly male. I just don't like shampoo that smells like five day old corpse! You're girlfriend's a vile woman, but I admire her choice of hair care products."_

"How is this...possible?..." Shizuo wondered out loud, falling backwards in shock.

_"Isn't it obvious? I'm an all powerful fox demon, silly Shizu-chan!"_

"Shizu-chan?..."

_"So you'd better do as I say! Otherwise, there could be...dire...consequences."_ The fox took a step towards Shizuo, and he almost broke the front door trying to desperately back away from the menacing thing. _"So, get me some more ootoro! Chop chop!"_

Shizuo quickly scrambled over to the phone and dialed the number to his local sushi place, but paused right before he hit the talk button. He glanced back down at the tiny creature. "Wait a second...You're a demon? Really?"

_"Quite! Now, less talkie, more fetchy sushi!"_

Shizuo hung up the phone and folded his arms. "Prove it."

_"Oh, Shizu-chan. Surely you know that asking a god or demon to prove that they are so is taboo and is really asking for it! Would you tempt me so? Are you really that stupid?"_

"Yeah, I guess I really am," Shizuo had had about all he could handle in the belittling department that day. He certainly wasn't going to take flack from some pathetic, half starved fox he'd rescued.

_"Fine...then ask me anything, and I shall tell you the correct answer."_

"Okay...where did I go this morning?"

_"You went to see Shinra, a contracted government psychiatrist, for your anger management therapy."_

"How...how did you know?"

_"Because I know all, silly human! Now, ootoru?"_

Shizuo swallowed harshly and turned back to the phone. It was then that he noticed he had a message. On impulse, he hit the play button, and the sound of Hisa's voice filled the small apartment, scolding him in advance if he'd dared to sleep through his appointment again. He hit the delete button with bit of a dramatic flourish. "Nice try, flea bag! I've got another question for you!"

The fox let out a whiny sigh, and shook his now shiny fur coat._ "Fine...what?"_

"Tell me what happened to Izaya Orihara."

To his surprise, the fox seemed to startle, and narrowed his red eyes while baring his teeth._ "Where did you hear about him?"_ he growled. Wow, it seemed to Shizuo that everyone knew Izaya Orihara except him.

"One of my friends is missing him," Shizuo shrugged. "You said you know everything. I thought I'd take the opportunity to do him a favor and find out."

_"Well he's dead!"_ the fox snarled. _"Sorry to disappoint you!"_

"I'm not disappointed in the least," Shizuo's voice was completely neutral, as he dialed the sushi number again. "The guy sounded like a dick that ruined people's lives, and I'm sure the world is a better place without him...Oh, hello! Take out, please!"

_"Ha! You're wrong! Izaya Orihara loved humans! They were his greatest joy!"_

"Sounded to me like he just liked to fuck with them," Shizuo said dryly. "Oh! Yes, I'm still here! Sorry! Need an order of ootoru! 20 minutes? Thanks!" The fox gave a flick of his tail and looked to the side, laying his ears flat against his head as Shizuo hung up the phone. "So, you see, Foxy, it's good that he's gone. And another thing...I don't think you're a demon. I don't know what you are, but there's no way a supernatural being would be as pathetic looking as you were when I found you." The small flinch the fox gave was not lost on him.

_"You're a little more perceptive than I initially thought...But still, I am a talking fox. Isn't that at least novel enough to warrant not kicking me back out on the streets?"_

Shizuo could hear the smallest hint of desperation in his voice, and felt something in his chest give. "Well, you were kind of a flea bag to intimidate me, but of course I won't kick you out," he said. "You're just going to have to work with me on keeping it a secret from Hisa. Now, come on. Let's go get your fatty tuna and you can tell me more about what the hell you are."

With a yip, the fox dove into his open arms and crawled onto his shoulder laying itself flat against Shizuo's neck like some sort of fur wrap. Together, they walked the streets of Ikebukuro. Shizuo could feel, rather than hear, the fox humming happily as it curled around his neck. Oddly enough, they really didn't attract too many stares. It kind of just looked like Shizuo had a strange fanshion sense.

"So, who are you? Really?"

The fox ceased it's humming and Shizuo could feel it's body tighten around his neck. _"I'm just a fox, nothing more, nothing less."_

"But foxes can't talk," Shizuo reasoned. "And they certainly don't live in the city."

_"Well, I suppose there's a first time for everything!~"_

"You're not going to tell me?"

_"I can't see how it would benefit me for you to know."_

"That just means you did something wrong."

_"...Why did your girlfriend call you stupid, again?"_

A silly grin flashed across Shizuo's face before he could stop it. He knew the fox wasn't trying to compliment him, but it was the closest thing anyone had ever given him to one concerning his intelligence. He quickly lit a cigarette to hide behind. The fox sneezed at the smoke. "She's not my girlfriend. She's my fiancée."

_"Oh, dear lords, you poor man."_

"She's not that bad..."

_"Really? Well, she's never tried to shove a broom stick up your ass. Or wait...Has she?_"

Shizuo reached up and gave the fox a sound swat on the head and the creature squeaked. "You're an ill-mannered little grunt, aren't you?"

_"On the contrary, dear Shizu-chan! I have excellent manners when I care to use them! Look!" _The fox looped it's tail under Shizuo's nose. _"I've given you a distinguished mustache! Let's be respectable gentlemen, together!"_ Shizuo pulled the tail back under his chin as the fox snickered, amused by it's own antics.

"My name is Shizuo. Not '_Shizu-chan'._ Get it right, Foxy!"

_"And my name is not 'Foxy'!"_

"Well, you never told me your name, and I have to call you something."

_"Can it be something that doesn't sound like a nursery rhyme?"_

"No Foxy Loxy, then?"

_"Nyet!"_

"Hmmm..." Shizuo thought for a moment. "How about 'Izaya', then?"

_"What?"_

"Well, like you said, the guy's dead and not using it anymore. And besides, I don't know...It seems to suit you. What's the matter? You don't like the name?"

_"It's an exquisite name!"_ the fox sniffed. _"I'm just not sure if I am worthy."_

Shizuo shook his head. He was beginning to seriously suspect he knew the fox's true identity, but what harm was there in playing along? Obviously the fox didn't want to talk about it, though Shizuo was terribly curious how a man could have been transformed into an animal. Oh well, all in good time.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind, or even if he would, who cares? Izaya it is."

_"Izaya it is..."_ the fox echoed, and Shizuo could swear there was a smile behind his voice. A couple of minutes later, the fox was humming happily again.

"SHIZUO!" a thick Russian accent greeted him as they walked towards the entrance of Russian Sushi. "Here to eat sushi? Sushi good! Good for furry friend, too!"

"Hey, Simon," Shizuo greeted, surprised that the large man was able to see the fox was alive right away, and not some sort of fashion statement. He ground out his cigarette and put the butt in his pouch. "Me and the fleabag got an order to go."

"AH! Go on, then! I'm sure is ready! Enjoy, enjoy, and come back soon!" He smiled widely, but as soon as Shizuo passed, the fox gazed back at the black Russian, who was now staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face. After a few seconds, Simon smiled again, and winked, before returning to frightening poor tourists and passers, by on the street by threatening them with coupons. Izaya blinked, and moved to Shizuo's other shoulder, wrapping his tail tightly around his neck to balance himself.

"Are you trying to choke me to death, flea bag?" Shizuo grumbled, loosening his tail's grip with an index finger as one would a tie. "What's up with you?" Izaya didn't answer, as Shizuo paid for the order and left. After a few minutes of silence, and a decisive lack of humming, Shizuo knew there was something wrong. "Hey, what's your deal? You're getting your ootoro; you should be damn happy! This shit's expensive!"

_"Ah, how generous of you, Shizzu-chan! I can only hope that the pleasure of my company compensates you for your monetary loss."_

"Tch!"

_"Oh, by the by, why don't you have a computer in your house, Shizu-chan? I thought every modern, Japanese home had at least a desktop." _Shizuo snorted.

"I don't need that crap! People need to get off the internet and open a damn book!"

_"Ah, a simple man with simple pleasures? Sounds about right."_ Shizuo didn't like the way it sounded like a sneer, but before he could think of a response, an obnoxious voice sounded behind them.

"Hey, blondie! What kind of get up is that? What are you, a bartender?" There was a wave of giggles and guffaws. Shizuo glanced over his shoulder at the gang of unruly teenagers, all sporting yellow pieces of clothing, and pushed his glasses higher on his nose.

"Yes," he said simply, and began to walk away.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" the same voice yelled. He must have been the leader of sorts. "I wanna have a chat with you! You're Shizuo Heiwajima, right? They say you've got quite a temper! And that you're the strongest man in Ikebukuro! But I don't believe it!" he scoffed, brandishing a bat and giving it a swing. The other two took out a pipe and club with a smirk. "You don't look so tough to me! And what's up with your hair? You can see that shit a mile away!" The others laughed, beating their respective weapons into their palms.

Shizuo glanced upwards at his unruly locks before casually taking out another cigarette. "I hate violence," he stated. "You say you're stronger, let's just leave it at that." He turned again to leave, with Izaya peeking his head over his shoulder.

_"Oh, come on! We need to teach these plebs a lesson! You can't just walk away!"_

"Yes, I can," Shizuo growled. "I don't need more shit on my record!"

_"Ah! They're just some punks! No one's going to report it!"_

"Just shut up, already!"

"Ah, look! He's talking to his little cat thing! Didn't know you were crazy, too!" the boy called after him. "Is your little brother as much of a chicken shit, loony as you are?" Izaya chuckled evilly when he saw Shizuo take the cigarette out of his mouth, unconsciously snapping it in half.

_"Oh, yes! It's party time!"_

"Don't talk about my brother, asshole," Shizuo growled from somewhere deep in his chest, turning to face the gang head on.

"Why? Cause he's a bigger pussy than you are?" Amidst all their laughter, they didn't even see the street trashcan flying towards them, effectively silencing the one holding the club by crashing into him. He hit the ground, out cold. The other two turned to stare at Shizuo with huge eyes.

_"Too late!"_ Izaya cried, gleefully. _"Party, party, party, party!"_ he chanted as he leapt off Shizuo's heaving shoulders and shot like lightening up the boy holding the pipe's pants leg.

"What the fuck!" he screamed, desperately trying to shake the unknown creature off of him. "Get this thing off me! OW!" Izaya bit him from somewhere inside his jacket, and without thinking clearly, the frantic teen began beating himself all over with the pipe, trying to hit whatever thing was assaulting him. As Izaya was causing one to beat himself to death, Shizuo had advanced on the leader, snatching the bat out of his hand as it swung at him, snapping it in two.

"Wrong answer," he growled, but there was a sadistic smile on his face as he punched the kid across the lower jaw so hard, he was airborne for a good five seconds before landing in a heap against a shop doorway. He turned to see the other still futilely batting away at himself, each swing being weaker than the last. Izaya emerged from his coat and dashed to the top of his head, bearing his sharp teeth in a smirk at Shizuo.

_"See? Isn't this fun?" _he asked with a loud bark of a laugh. The teen made one last attempt to hit the creature that had been tormenting him, but only succeeded in smashing his own forehead with the pipe. Izaya hopped lightly off of him as he crumpled to the ground. The sound of sirens in the distance reached their ears. _"Run away, run away!~" _Izaya practically sang, racing back up to Shizuo's shoulders. Shizuo stared in the direction of the sound, wide eyed. What had he just done? _"What are you waiting for, neanderthal? Hurry, hurry! They'll catch us!"_

With a bitter curse, Shizuo began to run, snatching up the bag of sushi from the ground on his way out. Great! Not only did he commit a crime, he was now fleeing from the scene! "God dammit!" he cursed again, picking up speed.

_"Wheeee~" _Izaya gripped the sides of Shizuo's head with his forepaws, as he steadied himself on his shoulders with his hind legs, thoroughly enjoying the ride. _"Oh, today is a good day!"_

"Shut up!" Shizuo practically screamed. "There's nothing good about it! I did it AGAIN!"

_"Did what?"_

"I lost my temper! I hurt people!"

_"Yeah? So what? They wanted to hurt you. Why does it matter?"_

"I'm supposed to be able to control my emotions! If they find out that I-"

_"No one will know! You worry too much~"_

Shizuo grit his teeth at the foolish fox and just kept running. He felt a huge wave of relief as his apartment building came into sight. Once inside, Shizuo locked every lock, and breathing heavily, slowly sank to the floor. Izaya hopped joyfully into the kitchen, drinking some of the water out of his dish. _"Mmmm, beating up stupid thugs makes me thirsty," _he hummed. He pranced over to where Shizuo was sprawled, still panting against the door, and picked up the bag of takeout with his teeth. When Shizuo made no effort to move, Izaya slowly lowered the bag back down, and gazed at him, tilting his head to the side. _"You look so guilty, Shizu-chan! You should never feel guilty for having a good bit of fun! It's called 'life'!"_

Shizuo glared at him, before slowly rising to his feet. "You don't understand," he tried to explain. "I got a lot at stake. I can't just do whatever I want whenever I feel like it!"

_"Why not~" _Izaya smoothed out his tail with one of his front paws.

"Because! It's irresponsible! And foolish! And you'll never get anywhere in life if you can't control yourself!"

Izaya's red eyes rolled dramatically. _"Stop blowing this out of proportion, Shizu-chan! It was just a good, old fashioned, clean fight. When you think about it, they outnumbered us by one, and I only weigh about 2 kilos. It's not our fault they sucked at life so much! You knooooow I'm right, so go on! Tell me I'm right!"_

"I suppose..." Shizuo muttered, eyeing the fox suspiciously. It occurred to him that Izaya was going to be a little more of a handful than he originally thought.

_"Mmmm, yes, I am always right. And I was very impressed with your strength, might I had. I, too, had only ever heard rumors. Now, sushi! I can't open this plastic container!"_

Shizuo sighed, as he popped the lid for him and Izaya hungrily snapped up a piece. "You know, I thought you were cute when I first saw you...Now I'm not so sure..."

_"Oh, please! I'm simply adorable! Enjoy it while you can. As soon as I figure some things out, I'll no longer grace you with my luminous presence."_

Shizuo snorted at Izaya's constant overwhelming confidence, and grabbed a piece of sushi for himself before the fox devoured it all. "Oh really," he prompted.

_"Indeed."_

"And what things might those be? Turning back into a human, possibly?" Shizuo smiled slyly as the fox stopped chewing and glanced at him. "Oh, come on, it's obvious you used to be human. What happened anyway? Stick your nose somewhere it didn't belong?"

Izaya's ears went flat for a moment, before he flashed a pointed, chesire smile. _"I have a vested interest in all humans and their affairs, therefore my nose belongs everywhere."_

"I'll bet some people don't share that sentiment," Shizuo smirked before a large yawn overtook him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I didn't get much sleep last night." He kicked off his shoes and headed to the bedroom, plopping down face first into his pillow. After a few seconds, he decided it probably wasn't best to sleep in dirty clothes, and lazily kicked his pants off while he unbuttoned his shirt. Once he was down to his boxers, he let out a heavy sigh, and flung his arms out, completely comfortable. At least, until he felt something softly land by his feet. He could feel the slight steps as the fox made it's way near his face. Cracking one eye open, Shizuo found himself looking directly into Izaya's large, ruby colored eyes, which were wide open, and staring directly into his.

_"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just here to observe your sleeping habits, Shizu-chan."_

"Argh!" Shizuo grunted, flipping away from the face that was a little too close for his comfort. "Can't you go watch t.v. or something? I'm tired, and I have to work in a few hours!"

_"Ugh, there's nothing to watch on the news. All people care about is that stupid serial killer. I think that might actually be his title, 'The Stupid Serial Killer'. Killing people you think aren't worthy of life...how _cliché_!"_

"I'm sorry you don't find it entertaining," Shizuo mumbled. He startled when he felt a set of cold paws land on his side and begin trailing down his body. They stopped on his hip, where Izaya chose to take a seat.

_"It intrigues me that the rest of the country finds it so fascinating. Humans are so wonderfully hypocritical. No one would admit it, but they find things like murder and tragedy immensely entertaining."_

"I'm sure it's just that we all want to stay alive, and it's in our interest to be up to date things that would have it otherwise."

_"No, my dear Shizu-chan, that is just YOU. The rest of the world gets off on other people's pain and suffering."_

"What interests you, then?" Shizuo asked with another yawn. To his amusement, Izaya mirrored it with a yawn of his own, and lazily tumbled on the bed in front of him, sliding up along his stomach until he'd reached his chest and could lay his head on Shizuo's arm.

_"Pets?" _Shizuo rolled his eyes, and began petting the now stretched out fox the entire length of his body. Izaya hummed quietly, and closed his eyes. _"I would be interested in the moments before the person's death. The look on their face, what they thought about , what they said. But you never hear about those things in the news. That's why you have to be there, in person, when it all goes down."_

"Are you saying you've watched people die?"

_"Oh, yes...A few times...Now THAT is interesting."_

"That's sick!" Shizuo growled, suddenly pushing Izaya off the bed, sending him to the ground with a plop.

_"Shizu-chan! That's so mean! It wasn't like I had anything to do with it! Well,...not most of the time, anyway! And besides, what's the difference between watching it as it happens and watching the aftermath?" _Izaya placed his front paws on the bed, resting his chin between them.

"Well, you could have done something about it!" Shizuo seethed. "You could have tried to prevent it!"

_"I try not to interfere in other people's lives...physically," _Izaya grinned at the last part. Shizuo just shook his head.

"You really are a demon. But you're also a pathetic, little pipsqueak, so I'm not going to pound your face in for being such a fleabag!"

Iaya pulled himself back onto the bed and resumed his spot next to Shizuo's chest. _"Eh, I've been called worse."_

* * *

><p>It felt like only minutes had gone by when the sound of the front door opening and closing startled Shizuo and Izaya awake. They both shared a mutual feeling of terror as they stared wide eyed at one another.<p>

"Hisa!"

_"The ogress!"_

"SHIZUOOOO!~ Where are you, my love?"

"I'll be out in a second!" Shzuo yelled, springing from the bed and quickly locking the door. It wasn't a moment too soon, as the knob immediately began jiggling as Hisa tried to open the door from the other side.

"Oh, what's this? Like I haven't seen you naked before! Open the door, Shizuo!"

Shizuo quickly slipped into a clean pair of his black dress slacks and nodded toward the closet. "Gym bag, far corner," he whispered. Izaya quickly scampered into the closet as Shizuo opened the door. Hisa was tapping her foot with he arms folded, but was immediately all smiles. Dressed in a green sweater dress with a belt and her hair swept up and high boots, she looked every bit like the college girl she was as she threw herself into Shizuo's arms.

"Shizuo! Darling! I'm sorry I was so horrible this morning!" She snuggled against his bare chest, and he patted her, awkwardly. "That thing was just so hideous! Thank you for getting rid of it!"

"Ummm, it's fine. H-how was school?"

"Ugh!" she pushed off of him and walked in to sit down on his bed. "Horrid! My literature professor is the devil, I swear! He actually threw a book at a student today! And he wouldn't move our test date even though he KNOWS we have two other tests that day!"

"Oh, uh, sorry to hear that."

"Are you getting ready to go to work, already?" she asked, staring at his half done attire.

"Um, yeah! They needed someone to come in early. Yoshi got sick, or something like that," he felt bad lying, but he desperately wanted to get Izaya as far away from Hisa as possible. He didn't even want to think of what would happen if she knew he was still there. Hisa smiled at him, coyly, as he took an undershirt out of his dresser and slipped it on.

"Surely they can do without you for a few more minutes," she giggled, reaching out to loop a finger through one of his belt loops and pulling him towards her.

"I don't know, they sounded like they really needed help," Shizuo tried, as she pulled him down on top of her.

"Nonsense! I won't take up too much of your time, I promise~" she smiled evilly as she pressed her lips against his. Shizou glanced nervously about the room, trying to gently disengage, but Hisa had a firm arm around the back of his neck. He almost yelped when she snaked her other hand down and undid the button of his pants.

"Hisa, now's really not a good tIME!" his voice shot up a few octaves when she found what she was looking for. Shizuo was sure that he heard the sound of gagging coming from the closet and mentally begged the fox to keep quiet.

"Oh come on, Shizuo!" Hisa giggled, rubbing against him a bit more vigorously. Shizuo had to bite back a moan as he grabbed her wandering hand.

"Later," he promised. "But I really have to go now. I'm sorry, Hisa."

"Fine!" she huffed, folding her arms and looking away. "I'll just hang out and do homework until you get home."

Relief washed over Shizuo when she released her death grip and he quickly finished dressing. Grabbing the slightly heavier gym bag, he gave Hisa a peck on the lips and darted out the door. "That was close..." He muttered, slinging the bag over his shoulder.

_"Might you unzip the bag a bit? It's a little stuffy in here." _Izaya gasped dramatically as Shizuo complied, and poking his head through the tiny opening. _"Honestly, why do you put up with her?"_

"She's my fiancée!"

_"She's horrible. But I suppose if one was thinking with their dick and not their brain..."_

"Hey!" Shizuo blushed. "That's about enough out of you."

_"Still, she's not THAT good looking. You could do much better, Shizu-chan! MUCH better! You're an absolute stud! Why did you pick HER of all people?"_

"I said enough!" With that, Shizuo poked his head back into the bag and drew the zipper shut, choosing to ignore the fact that the fox was complimenting his looks. He ignored Izaya's pleas and fake apologies, as he lit a cigarette and maintained a stony silence the rest of the way to the bar. Once inside the unusually crowded place, Shizuo quickly made his way to the back and dumped the duffel bag on the hard floor.

_"You callous, son of a bitch!" _Izaya hissed. _"Could you please open the bag, now? Before I suffocate? I will haunt you, you know."_

"Nobody will care that you're here," Shizuo said shortly, as he quickly unzipped the bag. "Just stay out of sight and stay out of trouble!"

_"What if I have to use the little girl's room?" _Izaya smirked as he climbed out. Shizuo rolled his eyes and thought for a moment.

"Uh...alley way, out back?"

_"Ugh! Really? No employee bathroom?"_

"Nah, sorry, we only have the one stall in the front of the house," Shizuo scratched the back of his head, feeling a little guilty.

_"What kind of bottom dwelling, watering hole is this?"_ Izaya muttered.

"Look, I'll just prop the back window open for you. You can come and go as you please. How's that?"

_"Fine~" _the fox sighed and followed Shizuo to the back counter where a tiny window faced the opposite brick wall. Shizuo quickly slid it open, and Izaya nimbly leapt on the sill. _"I'm sure I won't be the first to pee on the side of your not so fine establishment~EEP!"_

Shizuo shoved him off the ledge before he could finish his mockery. "Just remember what I said, flea bag!"

_"Brute..." _Shizuo heard the fox mutter as it's tiny footsteps quickly faded in the distance.

"Flea bag..." Shizuo shook his head and walked back to the front of the house.

"Yo! Shizuo! Why you here so early, man?" Yoshi, a slightly older man with a mustache, smiled brightly, giving Shizuo a slap on the shoulder in greeting. "Wait a second," his eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not fired, am I?"

"No," Shizuo grabbed a bar towel and looped it through the back of his pants. "And if anyone calls, you're sick, okay? Just let me help you out for a while. You can keep the tips." Yoshi blinked at him.

"Wow, you must really be desperate! Who you runnin' from?"

"Hisa..."

"Huh, I see. You two have a fight?"

"No, but we were going to have one if I didn't disappear really fast."

"Oh yeah, what's in the bag?" Yoshi slid a beer down the counter to an older gentlemen, who looked to be a construction worker, and wiped his hands on the towel on his waist.

"You'll see soon enough," Shizuo mumbled, as he left to restock the canned beers. He returned with a five boxes stacked high and set them down on the ground with a clank. It was far more than any normal person would have carried, but Shizuo never paid enough attention to think he was doing anything strange. Yoshi quirked and eyebrow at him and smiled, before glancing up at the t.v.. A well known, and much disliked politician was in town, waxing poetic about the current economic crisis, and his new plan of action that was sure to bring an end to the hardship.

"What a useless person," Yoshi said, darkly. "People like him are the reason Japan suffers so much." Shizuo glanced up at the screen over his shoulder. Kenichi Yamato...well, Shizuo didn't really follow politics too much, but the guy seemed pretty corrupt. There were rumors of funds missing from tax collections, non profit organizations, and all sorts of shady nonsense whenever he was involved.

"Hm, guess you'd better vote him out, then," Shizuo said, lightly, rising to put the empty boxes away.

"I think he should just die." Shizuo blinked at him. "We don't need people like him." All at once, the cold look in his eyes left and Yoshi smiled sweetly at Shizuo. "Which reminds me! How's your therapy going? You becoming a good citizen, yet?"

"...getting there?" Shizuo grinned a little nervously, quickly escaping to the back. Geez, his coworker could be a little creepy, sometimes. As he exited through the back door to make his way to the dumpster, he saw a familiar pair of red eyes moving toward him in the approaching darkness.

_"Shizu-chan!~" _Izaya sang, as he quickly climbed his way up Shizuo's pants and shirt to his shoulder.

"What are you? A damn parrot? You don't have to sit on my shoulder all the time, you know?"

_"But I LIKE it up here! Shizu-chan is quite tall and I can see oh so far!"_

Shizuo shook his head as he headed back inside.

"What the- Shizuo! What's on your shoulder?" Yoshi's eyes were large.

"Yoshi, this is Izaya. He's my new roommate."

"No kiddin'? What is he? A fox?" He walked closer to inspect Izaya, who merely looked him over once before completely ignoring him. "Weird...foxes are usually pretty wild. I'm surprised he's so comfortable around you. Why'd you name it, 'Izaya'? Don't you know who that guy is?"

"Was," Shizuo corrected. "That guy's dead."

"No kidding?" an unusually happy smile spread across Yoshi's face. "What happened to him?" Shizuo shrugged.

"Don't know. Heard the serial killer got him." Yoshi's face fell.

"Oh...I see. Well, he was NOT a good person." Shizuo chuckled.

"So I've heard. What'd he do to you?"

"Absolutely nothing! I would never associate with his kind!"

"Well," Shizuo took out a cigarette and lit it. "How do you know he was such a bad person, then?"

"Because, he brainwashed some highschooler into leaping to her death." Shizuo's eyebrows shot up.

"What?"

"And he helped a pharmaceutical company that experiments on people evade the police."

"You don't say..." Shizuo looked at Izaya out of the corner of his eyes. The fox didn't look nervous in the least. He seemed to be studying Yoshi, intently as he spoke.

"And he helped the Yakuza smuggle weapons into the country- and"

"Okay, hold it," Shizuo held up a hand. "How do you know all this is true? Aren't these just rumors?"

"Oh, come on, Shizuo! Everyone knows that 99.9% of the bad things that happen in Ikebukuro are Izaya Orihara's fault! If he truly is gone, than good riddance! Not you though, little guy," he gave Izaya's head a little pat. "You're cute and I hope you stay around a long time, even if you do have an unfortunate name." As soon as Yoshi left the back, Shizuo put out the cigarette and grabbed Izaya by the scruff, bringing him eye level.

_"Hey! Easy now! What's got your panties in a bunch?" _he half barked at the enraged bartender.

"What the hell, Izaya? How could you do those things?"

_"I'm sorry, are you implying without any proof whatsoever that I was Izaya Orihara? The famous information broker?"_

"Don't play games with me, fleabag!" Shizuo gave him a little shake. "I know it was you. There's no one else on this planet annoying enough! Now, cut the bull shit! Why'd you do those awful things?"

_"Shizu-chan, this may be a little difficult for you to understand, but in my line of work, having people believe you're capable of great evils has it's advantages," _Izaya smiled, slyly._ "You can't believe everything you hear. You can only believe...oh about 75% of it." _

"Did you really make a girl kill herself? Why would an information broker even bother with something like that?"

_"Because I love humans! And I love to watch them! And, might I add, my dear Shizu-chan, I never 'make' anyone do anything. That girl wanted to die, and I was a mere impassive observer."_

"You're a monster, is what you are!" Shizuo couldn't stop himself from shaking the fox silly. Izaya could feel his teeth rattle in his skull. "I should just put you out of your misery right here and now, damn fleabag!"

_"Awe, but you'd never be able to live with yourself if you knew you'd killed another human being...even if he happened to be a fox at the moment." _Izaya smirked as Shizuo's shoulders dropped. He let go, and the fox barely managed to land on his feet as he fell to the floor.

"You're disgusting!" Shizuo spat. "Get out of here! Scram!"

_"Now, now, don't be like that, Shizu-chan!" _Izaya still sounded anything but upset. _"What if I were to tell you the serial killer's next victim? Would that just make everything peachy keen again?"_

"And how do you know that? Did you plan that, too?" Shizuo sneered, turning his back to him.

_"Merely observation, Shizu-chan. I could be completely wrong, but it's highly unlikely. Of course, there's no way to be sure until after the fact."_

"Fine! Who is it?" Shizuo growled.

_"Oh, no, no. That's not how this little game works-"_

"WHAT GAME?"

_"Izaya Orihara does not give out information for free. I want you to promise that no matter what nonsense people tell you, you won't kick me out, like you ORIGINALLY said you wouldn't."_

Shizuo felt a little stab of guilt, but quickly smothered it. "Agreed! Now, tell me who it is!"

_"Kenichi Yamato, the politician."_

"And how do I stop that from happening?" To his irritation, Izaya laughed in a high, lilting voice. It would have been a rather pleasant sound if it weren't coming from a such a scummy fleabag.

_"Oh, Shizzu-chan! So noble! I knew that would be your first thought, but there really isn't anything you can do about it...unless..."_

"Unless what?" An almost evil smile spread across Izaya's face.

_"Unless you want me to help you catch the serial killer."_

* * *

><p><em>AN: Ah, well, that is what I have so far. ;) What do you think? :3_


	2. Chapter 2

_Another chapter appears! How exciting!~ Thank you for all the story alerts, favs, and mah two reviews! Two reviews are greater than no reviews, right? ^^_

* * *

><p>Shizuo felt slightly ridiculous as he dawned a black turtleneck and black sweatpants. Placing a matching back beanie over his head completed the ensemble right before Izaya came sauntering into his room. Upon getting home from work, Shizuo had quickly changed, grateful that Hisa had fallen asleep in the bed. Izaya looked him up and down with a smirk.<p>

_"Well, don't you look positively illegal!"_

"Shh!" Shizuo hushed, jerking his head toward the sleeping form.

_"Oh yes, we don't want to wake 'Fe Fi Foe Fum' up, do we? Let's get out of here."_ Shizuo rolled his eyes, but quickly followed Izaya out the door, closing it softly behind him. Izaya scrambled up onto his shoulder. _"Alright! To Tokyo Hotel we go! Chop chop!"_

"How do you know that's where Yamato's staying?"

_"Because that's where ALL superfluously wealthy people of importance stay in this area, Shizu-chan!"_

"Argh, would you stop calling me that, already?" Shizuo roared as he took off running. Izaya gripped his shoulder for dear life, but still didn't lose his grin.

_"But it just suits you so well, Shizu-chan! So child-like, and adorable!"_

"Tch!"

_"Have you given much thought as to what you will do when we find this serial killer?"_ Izaya asked, sounding really anything but curious.

"Of course I have! I'm gonna punch his lights out!"

_"How intricate..."_ Izaya snickered, but he didn't goad him any further. They reached the ornate hotel within fifteen minutes, and Izaya hopped off Shizuo's shoulders while he caught his breath. _"Let's circle the perimeter first, then we'll find a good spot to watch."_ With that, the black fox quickly scampered off into the darkness. Shizuo cast a glance around before quickly following. Izaya surmised that the culprit would most likely enter through the service door facing the fence on the right side of the building, and there just happened to be a parking garage directly next to it. Izaya hopped along until they'd reached the second floor of the garage._ "Alright, let's wait here. He's bound to show up sooner or later."_

Unfortunately, it really was much more later than sooner. It was all Shizuo could do to barely keep his eyes open. He was just about to drift off when Izaya's ears perked up. "What is it?" he yawned.

_"I hear something..."_ Izaya stared intently at the doorway beneath them. Within mere seconds, a black clothed figure darted through the door._ "There he is!"_ Izaya barked.

"I didn't see anything!" Shizuo blinked in disbelief.

_"Do you want to catch this guy, or not?"_ Izaya snarled. Shizuo frowned, and picked him up by the scruff, dropping him on his shoulder.

"Hold on."

_"Wait a minute, Shizzy, what are you-AHH!"_ Izaya could not contain the terrified yell as Shizuo leapt from the second story on to the ground and practically landed running. "You're insane!" Izaya wailed, clenching Shizuo's shoulder so tightly, his nails dug into his skin. _"What the fuck kind of stunt was that?"_

"You mean you didn't see that coming?" Shizuo grinned. They were through the front doors and at the main desk in no time. At first, the clerk was terrified, but as soon as she realized Shizuo wasn't there to hold up the place, she relaxed.

"I'm sorry, sir, we don't allow pet-"

"Call security, immediately! Kenichi Yamato is in danger!"

"W-what?"

"A killer just snuck in through the back door! Please, you have to believe me! He's here for Yamato!"

"Oh...okay," the clerk gave him a funny look as she picked up the desk phone. "Security, you're needed at the front desk..." Shizuo face palmed as Izaya began to laugh, evilly.

"No, no, don't send them here! Send them to that damn politician's room!" he yelled.

"What seems to be the problem here, sir?" a middle aged man in a security uniform gripped Shizuo's unoccupied shoulder tightly.

"I'm trying to tell you people that the serial killer is in this building! And he's going to kill Yamato! But you're not listening to me!"

"Calm down, sir. Why don't you come along with me? We'll talk more on the way to the station."

By this point, Izaya was laughing hysterically, but to everyone except Shizuo, it merely sounded like yipping. Shizuo could feel a vein protruding from his head. "NO! Listen to me, god dammit!" He kicked the side of the counter so hard, his foot went through the wood. "...oops..."

The security officer quickly drew his baton and gestured pointedly toward Shizuo. "Alright! That's it! Hands on your head, you're coming with-"

A loud shot rang out from somewhere above them, followed by both men and women screaming. The lobby was quickly flooded with patrons fleeing out onto the street. With all the hysteria, the security guard completely forgot about the black-clad blonde, who had just kicked a hole through the front desk. "HQ, this is 359, Tokyo Hotel, I need back up, BACK UP!" he yelled above the noise as he tried to push through the crowd to get upstairs. Shizuo felt a sinking feeling deep within the pit of his stomach. He had failed...

_"Earth to Shizu-chan! Let's get out of here before he comes back!"_ Shizuo said nothing and continued to just stare at the frenzy around them._ "Neanderthal!"_ A sharp nip on his ear jolted him out of his daze. He quickly left in the crowd, but didn't run like the rest once he was out on the street. He walked very slowly back in the direction of his apartment, eyes downcast. Izaya regarded him silently for a moment before giving an annoyed sigh._ "Oh, Shizu-chan! You're feeling all guilty again, aren't you?"_ Receiving no answer, he continued. _"It's not your fault they wouldn't listen."_

"Maybe...maybe if I were smarter...if I'd said something else...If I'd DONE something else..."

_"Shizzy, first of all, light yourself a cigarette."_ Shizuo raised an eyebrow at him, but complied. He hadn't noticed how badly his hands were shaking, as he took a long drag of the smoke. _"And second, you did what you could. Even the great Izaya Orihara, though definitely as close as any of humanity has come to it, isn't perfect."_ He wrapped his tail under Shizuo's nose, curling the end up like a ridiculous mustache again._ "Distinguished gentlemen of honor don't mope. They accept defeat today and plan a more secure victory for tomorrow. We'll catch him next time, ne? Promise! Don't be such a sore loser!"_ Shizuo pulled his tail down again, revealing a broad smile. Izaya was actually trying to make him feel better. Even stranger, it was working. Shizuo never thought in a million years that one of the city's most delinquent persons would ever be the one to make him feel better about himself. Izaya was studying his face again and unconsciously mirrored his happy expression before he caught himself and quickly shook it off. He hopped to the back of Shizuo's head, placing his front paws on the sides of his forehead._ "That's it, Shizu-chan! No more frownies! Now, mush! I haven't told you what I want for break-"_ Izaya abruptly quit speaking, and Shizuo could feel his entire body tense as his paws tightened around his head. Looking around, he couldn't see anything except an old, foreign woman hobbling along and slowly pushing a cart towards them on the sidewalk.

"What's up?" Shizuo asked, directing his eyes upwards. Izaya growled.

_"It's HER!"_ He hissed, venomously. Feeling the fox start to tremble, Shizuo reached up and lifted Izaya into the crook of his arm as the hunched over woman approached them. He didn't understand what Izaya was so upset about. She just looked like some sweet, old lady, with a wide brimmed felt hat that had a cluster of feathers pinned to the side, a shawl, and a gingham dress with a small apron on the front. Shizuo saw the words, "Fortunes, Charms, and Potions", printed on the side of the cart she pushed. Ah, what did they call these people? Shizuo racked his brain.

'...Gypsies!'

"Ah, good morning!" her accent was very similar to Simon's. "You seek fortune, yes?" She smiled kindly at Shizuo.

_"Shizuo!"_ Shizuo startled when Izaya actually forgot to use his favorite nick name, _"Leave! Now! Please!"_ He made no attempt to hide the fear and desperation in his voice. Shizuo looked down at him.

"What's got you so worked up? She's just a harmless old lady."

The woman had watched their exchange silently and recognition lit her eyes. "Ah! Izaya! How are you? You find what you look for?" To Shizuo's complete surprise, Izaya snarled and lunged for the woman, snapping his sharp teeth. He quickly dropped his cigarette to stop the enraged fox from attacking her, getting bit several times in the process.

"Izaya! What the fuck?" he yelled, once he had him under control again. The woman looked like she hadn't even noticed the creature trying to bite her face off. She rummaged around among the many trinkets and props in her cart before retrieving a brown coat trimmed with fur.

"Here! Is yours, yes? Maybe friend can carry it for you, now!" She chuckled, good naturedly. Izaya growled deep in his throat and began barking out some other language that Shizuo could only assume was Russian. He couldn't understand anything the fox was saying, but it didn't sound very polite. The woman merely waited patiently, a small smile still on her face, until the verbal onslaught was over. She then answered him back in her native tongue with merely a few words. Shizuo felt Izaya bristle, before biting his hand so hard, he was forced to drop him to the ground. The fox quickly disappeared into the streets and Shizuo shook his bleeding and throbbing hand.

"What the hell was that all about?" he wondered aloud. The Russian woman pulled a lacy handkerchief from her front apron pocket, and pushed it into Shizuo's hand. "Thanks," he muttered, wrapping it tightly around the many bite wounds Izaya had left. She nodded, and once again held the jacket out to him. Shizuo took it and tucked it under his arm. "So...You know Izaya?"

"Oh, yes! He always coming and going!" she waved her hands back and forth for emphasis, "Always busy, always trouble!" She laughed again at the last part, shaking her finger in a reprimanding way.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure trouble's that guy's middle name," Shizuo said with a nod, lighting another cigarette. "I guess you're the one who turned him into a fox, then?"

The old woman shrugged. "I can not choose what becomes of people who look into the gazing ball. I try to tell Izaya this, but he so curious!" She chuckled again, shaking her head. "And he does not like to listen."

"Uh..." Shizuo tried to put it all together in his head, "Are you telling me Izaya looked into this crystal ball thing you have, and it turned him into a fox?" She nodded, still smiling. Huh...there sure were some strange things in this city. "Well, can you change him back?" The old woman shook her head.

"No, no, I can do nothing. Only Izaya can help himself. But no worry, no worry!" She patted Shizuo on the arm. "I tell him what he need to find to break the spell!"

"And, what is that?" Shizuo asked.

"That is only for Izaya to know. But you good boy, and I know, deep down, Izaya is good boy, too. Maybe you help him find it, yes?"

'Kinda hard when you don't know what you're looking for,' Shizuo wanted to say. Instead, he simply gave the woman a little bow and turned to leave.

"Wait!" she cried, taking his uninjured hand in hers. "Since you friend of Izaya, I read your palm for free, yes?" Shizuo rolled his eyes, but he smiled. He never really believed in any of this fortune telling mumbo jumbo. Hell, he didn't even read his daily horoscope, but if she had a crystal ball that could turn people into animals, Shizuo figured she was probably going to be the most legitimate palm reader he would ever find.

"Okay, sure. What do you see?" he asked, already half expecting the typical answers. The old woman knit her eyebrows together in concentration, quickly tracing her fingers over the lines in his palm.

"Ah, you brave fighter, I see! But you have bad temper," she tsked. "But good heart, good heart. You do not place much value in yourself, and you feel that you can not be close to people because you let them down." Shizuo frowned, deeply. He didn't like how accurate the woman was being. "Ah, I see you have very successful member in family. You love them very much, yes? You feel unworthy of them. Your greatest fear is being alone."

Shizuo jerked his hand out of hers a little more quickly than he meant to. She blinked at him in surprise, but then smiled kindly again. He laughed nervously. "Well, not the most flattering depiction, huh?" he joked. "Makes me out to be pretty pathetic."

"Anyone seem terrible when you only consider negative side," she shrugged. "You not let me get to good part!"

"Oh, there's a good part?" Shizuo grinned, scratching the back of his head.

"Yes, boy! You never give up! You never quit trying, and that is why you will be happy! And no worry so much!" she added with another pat as she began pushing her cart again. "You will not be alone! I see much love in your future! Beautiful, raven-haired beauty!"

"Wait..." Shizuo wrinkled his eyebrows as she past. He turned to call after her. "Hisa doesn't have black hair! It's brown!" he yelled, matter of factly. The woman regarded him with a quizzical look before bursting into laughter.

"Maybe, so! Maybe, so! I terrible at reading palms! I just make all that stuff up, yes?" She laughed loudly again and hobbled away. Shizuo watched her go with a troubled expression, before continuing on his way home. He stopped at the grocery store on his way to buy a piece of fish and some more milk. He didn't know if Izaya would come back, but if he did, he had no doubt the demanding little fox would be hungry. Shizuo wondered, as he checked out with the fur trimmed coat still under his arm, if Izaya would tell him what it was the old woman had told him to find. Somehow he doubted it. That stupid fox seemed to get off on keeping him in the dark as much as possible. He left the store and continued walking. Come to think of it... Shizuo stopped and held the jacket out in front of him. He was surprised at how small it was. Izaya must have been a pipsqueak in human form, too. Shizuo doubted he could even get his arms through the sleeves of the thing. But he didn't want to wear it, anyway. Instead, he quickly rifled through the pockets and found what he was looking for. A wallet.

"Bingo..." Shizuo mumbled, quickly flipping it open as he began walking again. But he was soon disappointed. Beyond a couple of credit cards and a thick wad of cash, there was very little in the way of identification, and certainly nothing with a picture on it. Part of him was a little surprised the old women hadn't pocketed the bills. If anything, that only made her more strange in his mind, because it certainly was a great deal more money than he had seen in one place in a long time. The only other things in the wallet were business cards for people completely unknown to Shizuo, and a coupon for sushi. He sighed, not even sure what he'd been looking for to begin with. Next to the wallet, there was a cell phone, but upon flipping it open, Shizuo was immediately greeted with a password protection screen. Searching in the other pocket, he found a set of keys and a rectangular object. Drawing it out, he quickly saw that it was a well crafted flick blade. Made sense. With all the dangerous people Izaya dealt with, naturally he would have something to protect himself with. Oh well...he'd hold on to this stuff in the event Izaya ever did manage to thwart the curse and wanted it again, but he was paying himself back for the ootoro.

Hisa was still fast asleep when he got home. Shizuo quickly changed, placing Izaya's things on the top shelf lining his closet before returning to the living room to smoke. Glancing at the news, this morning's shooting was already breaking headlines, and Shizuo let out a lengthy sigh as a photo of the politician, the latest victim, flashed across the screen. He remembered Izaya's words and took heart. They'd catch him next time. Shizuo only hoped that the little fox returned to make good on his promise.

'Of course he'll come back...' Shizuo muttered to himself. 'He made such a fuss about me not kicking him out...' But even so, Shizuo made several circles around the block throughout the morning, but there was no sign of Izaya. "Flea bag..." he grumbled, entering the kitchen to find Hisa awake and making coffee in his kitchen.

"Shizuo!" She quickly greeted him with a kiss. "Did you say something?"

"...No."

"Oh. I didn't even hear you come to bed last night! I must have been really tired! And you're certainly up early for having worked late!" Shizuo didn't know whether to be relieved or offended that she didn't notice the black circles under his eyes, a tell tale sign that he had not been to bed at all. He just poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the small dinette in the corner. "So!" she sat down across from him. Shizuo felt a little guilty for just wishing she'd leave. He had other things to think about. "I wanted to make sure you remembered that my grandparents are in town Saturday after next, and we're all having brunch in the garden that morning." Oh yes...Hisa's family indeed had gardens with which to brunch in. "And I was thinking, you know, your brother isn't shooting any movies right now and is going to be passing close to town," Shizuo's eyebrows shot up. He didn't even know that...why hadn't Kasuka called him? "And it would be just great if he could come, too! Kasuka's so charming, I'm sure my grandparents would love to meet him!" Shizuo grit his teeth, not liking what she was insinuating.

"Why don't you just invite him and leave me out of it," he growled, hiding his frown behind his mug. "I'm sure he's all your family really cares about, anyway."

"Shizuo!" Hisa cried, angrily. "How could you say something so awful! You know my family adores you!"

Shizuo had to catch himself before he rolled his eyes. He was sure that was why they always scowled at him when she left them alone. "Well, then they won't care if it's just plain old me that shows up!" he yelled back, slamming his mug on the table and folding his arms crossly.

"It was just an idea! You know it never hurts to have celebrities to distract at these types of social situations!"

"The type where your family sits on their high horse and judges me?" Shizuo asked, darkly. A flash of anger, and a touch of anxiety, crossed her face, and she slowly rose from the table.

"Just ask," she ordered, before grabbing her bag off the counter. "I have to go to class now. We'll discuss it more, later."

"Sure." Shizuo's voice was completely void of emotion. His mood was completely sour the rest of the day. He was so agitated, he couldn't even take a much needed nap. He spent the rest of the afternoon taking periodic walks around the block to look for Izaya and pacing around the living room until it was time to get ready for work. He dragged his exhausted feet to the bar and, having a good fifteen minutes before his shift started, practically melted into a fold out chair in the back of the house, letting his weary eyes close. Yoshi walked into the back, humming happily. He paused when he saw Shizuo.

"Well, hello there, fellow citizen!" he greeted happily. Shizuo merely grunted at him in response. "Someone's been missing you."

"What?" Shizuo cracked an eye open.

"Oh, not me!" Yoshi clarified with a laugh. "That would be gross! I mean your pet! He's been sleeping underneath the bar all day." As if on cue, Izaya came trotting into the back room with a languid yawn, and spotting Shizuo, quickly ran to climb up on his shoulder. Shizuo was a little more relieved than he would have ever cared to admit.

"Hey, flea bag," he smiled, giving the fox a scratch on the head. Izaya just hummed, wrapping his tail around his neck again.

"Wow, he sure seems to love you a lot," Yoshi commented. "I've never seen a wild animal so enamored with a human." Shizuo chuckled as Izaya quickly removed his tail and jumped down, turning his back to them both. If Shizuo didn't know better, he would have thought the fox seemed a little...embarrassed. "Anyway, I'm pretty tired, so I'm taking off now. Is that okay?"

"Sure..." Shizuo heaved himself to his feet. "Go on. I'll take over."

"Thanks, Shizuo." Yoshi let out a yawn and waved. "See you later."

Shizuo gave him a wave back as he secured a bar towel and went out to face the night. Izaya followed him, settling on a bottom shelf. He looked with his fiery red eyes at the bartender, as he refilled a few drinks and punched into the computer. _"You look like shit."_

"Thanks," Shizuo chuckled, fixing a couple of vodka tonics for two women standing to the side. He threw a couple of lime wedges with impressive accuracy from a distance into the glasses, and slid them to the corner. They giggled at the display as they took their drinks, and Shizuo set to work on a dry martini for a business man. "I'm glad someone got a nap."

_"Well, one has to have their beauty sleep,"_ Izaya yawned again. _"And you, apparently, didn't get ANY. What good will you do me if you drop dead from exhaustion?"_

Shizuo just shook his head. "Well, maybe if someone hadn't disappeared all day...Did you eat?"

Izaya blinked at Shizuo for a moment, surprised. The look was quickly replaced with a smirk. _"Oh, Shizu-chan...you were worried about me!"_

"Of course I was! You're so pathetic, I was worried a bird might carry you off and eat you, or something!" Shizuo growled, suddenly not liking where this conversation was heading. Izaya gave him a coy smile.

_"Of course I don't blame you for missing my radiance, but still... I'm touched!"_

"Tch! Don't flatter yourself, fleabag!" Shizuo scoffed, but he smiled, pulling a carton of heavy cream out of the fridge and pouring some in a saucer. He set the dish in front of him before continuing his work. Izaya lapped at the cream and wrinkled his nose.

_"Hmmm...Shizu-chan is trying to make me fat..."_ he commented, dryly, before taking another taste. _"But this is...pretty good."_

"Well, you could use some fattening up. That jacket looks like it wouldn't fit a ten year old," Shizuo smirked. "You were nothing but skin and bones when you were human, too, huh?"

_"I was 'slim'!"_ Izaya clarified, licking the cream from his lips.

"Yeah right. I'll bet you were just short!"

_"I was not! Granted, I wasn't a towering neanderthal like you, but still!"_

"Hey, that reminds me," Shizuo stooped down after he'd caught up on the line in front of the register. Izaya looked up at him with his bright red eyes. "That old woman said that I could maybe help you find what you're looking for." Izaya put his ears flat against his head and looked the other way. Shizuo couldn't understand why he was so touchy about the subject. Didn't he want to become human again as quickly as possible? "So, wanna tell me what it is we need to find to make you human?" Izaya glared at him out of the corner of his eye for a moment, before his familiar, smug grin appeared.

_"And why would you want to help me become human again, Shizu-chan? Is it so you can punch me in the face?"_

"No, it's just, well..." Shizuo wasn't sure what it was. In a way, he guessed that he had grown kinda fond of the little fur ball, and it was his natural instinct to help. "Argh," he sighed in frustration, rising to his feet. "Forget I said anything."

_"You can't help me, anyway..."_

Shizuo paused at the despair in his voice and decided to change the subject. "When do you think the serial killer will strike again?" he asked, mopping up the sweat from a glass someone had left. Izaya yawned.

_"He seems to be a lazy killer, only striking about once a fortnight. We just got lucky when we saw him last night."_

"Who's his next victim going to be?" Izaya looked at him a bit irritably, but shrugged.

_"I imagine when he figures that out, we will know, too. Did you bring home my jacket?"_

"Yes."

_"Then tonight when you get off of work, we're taking a little trip to Shinjuku."_

"The trains won't be running at that time of night..."

_"You got my wallet, didn't you? We'll take a cab."_ Shizuo's eyes widened. He hadn't ever taken a cab in his entire life! Izaya apparently had a lot of money to throw around. As if he was reading his mind, the fox laughed with small yips._ "Poor, simple, Shizu-chan! Is the prospect of taking a cab that amazing to you? How pitiful are your wages, exactly?"_

"How extravagant were yours!" Shizuo shot back angrily, a little embarrassed that his face had betrayed him so easily. Or maybe it was just that Izaya was that observant.

_"I was very good at what I did,"_ was all the fox offered. _"Sleepy time, now. Goodnight, Shizu-chan..."_

"Wait! Where are we going after work?"

_"You'll see..."_

Shizuo was left to wonder for the rest of his shift until he closed the bar. He was so tired, he could barely see straight, but curiosity kept him conscious as he hurried home to change and call a taxi. The driver looked at him somewhat strangely as he and Izaya sat in the back seat. When asked where they were going, Shizuo repeated the address that Izaya had told him, and the cabby gave him an even weirder look before shrugging and putting the car into drive. They were there in a matter of minutes, but the fare was still ungodly expensive. Shizuo felt a little funny handing over so many bills to the man, and was puzzled when, after he'd paid the amount shown on the screen, the driver still stood there, expectantly.

_"Tip the man, Neanderthal! Where are your manners?"_

"Oh!" Shizuo quickly thumbed through more money and handed the man another small stack of bills. Izaya rolled his eyes when he saw that Shizuo gave him about three times what was necessary, but he didn't say anything about it. His lips curled upward in a small, indulgent smile. The cabby was beaming as he pocketed the money.

"Will you be needing a ride back, sir?" he asked, hopefully.

"No, that's okay, we'll take the train."

"Very good, sir. Have a pleasant night." He left them standing in front of an enormous condominium complex that looked as if it had been built very recently. As Shizuo walked through the sliding doors, he gazed around in wonder at the lavish interior.

"What IS this place?" he asked, awe struck.

_"Don't get too excited, it's just where I live."_

"You live here, fleabag?" Shizuo's voice was incredulous. "What are you, royalty?"

_"Heh, no, I work for a living, thank you. Now, come on. Slide my security card through the reader on the side of the elevator. It's the sixth floor, code 606."_

Shizuo followed his instructions and was dumbfounded again when the elevator opened directly into a large, open, and modern living room and office space, sparsely furnished but screaming wealth all the same. Full bookcases lined the far wall leading up to a large bay window, which overlooked the night cityscape, and Shizuo gazed out at the expanse in amazement. "This place is beautiful," he commented, absently.

_"Why thank you. I'm rather fond of it, myself,"_ Izaya smiled as he hopped into the leather swivel chair in front of the computer. Shizuo turned to see him push the power button on the tower with a tiny paw and carefully tap out a password on the key board. He had to use both of his front paws to navigate the moues, as he studied the screen, intently. Shizuo had to laugh at the outrageous sight. Izaya put his ears back and spared him a glare over his shoulder. _"Instead of mocking me and my decisive lack of opposable thumbs, why don't you take this opportunity to get some shut eye and let me work in peace?"_

Shizuo stopped laughing, but he couldn't stifle a few remaining chuckles. "Ok, sounds like a good idea."

_"I'm just full of them!"_ Shizuo rolled his eyes and made his way over to the leather couch. _"Shizuo, you don't have to sleep on the couch, and I'd rather not be subjected to your horrible snoring."_

"I snore?" Izaya glanced up at him, raising his furry brow. "Sorry, I didn't know..." Shizuo grumbled. "Where do you want me to go?"

_"Bedroom's up the stairs, through the door to your left."_

"You don't mind if I sleep in your bed?"

_"I slept in yours,"_ Izaya commented lightly. Shizuo thought about it and shrugged. He padded in his socks through the door and gazed about the room, dimly lit by a large aquarium which took up a good bit of the side wall that divided the room from the bathroom. Shizuo leaned over and gazed at the small sharks and predator eels that seemed to be the main occupants. He guessed that there must be regular help that had access to the apartment to maintain such a spectacle. Feeling another wave of drowsiness wash over him, he made his way over to the bed. King sized and exceedingly plush, Shizuo found himself sinking down quite a few inches into the black, silk sheets. He suddenly felt exceedingly embarrassed of his tiny, simple apartment that was about the size of Izaya's closet. But, as extravagant as the condo was, Izaya had never commented about it or how vastly larger it was. In fact, Izaya had never really talked about his wealth at all. Shizuo had the sneaking suspicion that even though the fox had lived surrounded by luxury, Izaya cared little for material things. It was almost...admirable. And for whatever else people might say, it was obvious that the man had worked very hard to have so much at such a young age. If he was even that young.

'I'll have to ask him how old he is...' Shizuo thought sleepily, as he quickly drifted off. He didn't wake up until the late morning sun reached his face from the uncovered windows. Shizuo groaned, opening his groggy eyes. Checking his watch and seeing that it was 10:30, he got up. After using the pristine facilities, (which he honestly felt a little odd about, especially with sharks staring at him), he exited the bedroom. "Izaya?" Hearing nothing, he looked to find the fox sprawled out across the keyboard, fast asleep. A small pair of reading glasses were tilted sideways on the bridge of his snout, and there had to be at least thirty tabs open, but Shizuo didn't understand any of what the fox had been looking at. He did notice that Izaya was slightly drooling on the plastic keys, though. He chuckled quietly, gently lifting him into his arms and bringing him upstairs to deposit him on the bed. "You dumb fleabag," he smiled. He quietly closed the door and retrieved his cell phone from where he'd left it upon their late arrival earlier that morning. Seeing a missed call from Hisa, he hit the callback button and waited for her to pick up.

"Shizuo! Why the hell didn't you come home last night? Where were you?" Before Shizuo could even begin to answer, the tirade continued. "I left my biology book over at your apartment and I needed you to bring it to me! I was almost late for class!" she scolded. Shizuo didn't really see how that was his fault, but he was loathe to argue the point.

"Sorry... I spent the night at a friend's house." He felt pretty good about that not being a total lie.

"A friend? You have a friend?" she sounded shocked. "Who is it? Don't tell me it's that guy you work with, what's his face? He's a total creeper!"

"No, it's not Yoshi, just an old buddy of mine I ran into last night."

"Huh...well...ok." It sounded as if she wasn't quite sure what to think of that, but decided to ignore it in lieu of other things. "Have you called your brother, yet?"

"...No."

"SHIZUO!"

"Look, I'll call him right now, okay?" Shizuo tried not to growl as he said it.

"Okay! Let me know what he says! Byee~!" she hung up abruptly and Shizuo sighed. He sat down on the couch, flicking on the large flat screen t.v.. As usual, only news about the serial killer. Shizuo muted the television and dialed his brother's number. Might as well get it over with... It rang at least ten times, and Shizuo was just about end the call before he heard someone pick up.

"Hanejima Yuuhei's assistant speaking!" a friendly voice chirped.

"Hi, uh, is Kasuka around?"

"Oh, hi Shizuo! It's been a while since we've heard from you! Hold on one moment. He heard the phone being handed off with murmuring voices in the background.

"Brother."

"Kasuka! Hi, um, sorry to call out of the blue like this."

"It's fine."

"...Look, I don't know how to ask, but Hisa's having this gay, family brunch thing Saturday morning. Oh, not this Saturday, the next, and I'm supposed to meet her grandparents."

"Uh-huh."

"...Well, she really wanted you to come. You know, to make me look like a half decent human being or something, but I completely understand if you're busy."

"Do you want me to go?"

"What?"

"Do you want me to go?" The way his brother repeated himself with the exact same inflection was a little eerie. Shizuo hadn't even thought about what he wanted.

"Uh, well, er,...yes. I mean, I haven't seen you in a long time. Maybe we could do something afterwards?" He tried not to make his voice sound too hopeful.

"Done. Anything else?"

"N-no. That was it. Thanks a lot, Kasuka! I mean it!"

"Why are you thanking me? It's not a favor. I want to see my brother."

"Oh..." Shizuo grinned like an idiot. "Well, I look forward to it, then. See you on Saturday."

"Mm. Bye."

Shizuo hung up the phone feeling a little giddy. That had gone MUCH better than he thought. He shot off a quick text message to Hisa telling her that Kasuka would be there before going into the kitchen to poke around Izaya's fridge. After making himself a cheese omelet, Shizuo went to sit back down on the couch. When he looked back up at the screen, his plate of eggs slipped through his fingers and fell on the hardwood floor with a shatter. Izaya jumped three feet in the air before falling on the floor in a heap when a terrible roar swept through rooms.

"GOOOOOD DAAAAAMMIT!"

Momentarily confused as to how he got in the bedroom, Izaya ran to the door and began to rattle it, barking. After he'd somewhat regained his composure, Shizuo jumped up the stairs, opened the door, and let him out.

_"What's with all the racket, neanderthal? The entire district of Shinjuku probably heard you just now!"_ He paused, taking in Shizuo's disheveled appearance and heaving chest. He was so worked up, he couldn't even bring himself to speak. The frantic man only pointed in the direction of the t.v. over and over again. Izaya quirked his brow at him, and padded over to see. There, taking up the entire screen, was a composite sketch of Shizuo's face, complete with the black beanie he'd worn the night before. Izaya cackled a bit when he saw that they'd made his nose way too big, and laughed even harder when he saw that he had been transformed into some sort of fuzzy scarf in the translation. He only stopped his mirth when he saw the words, "suspect wanted for questioning" scroll across the screen. _"Well, isn't this a predicament?"_ he smirked._ "Whatever will your fiancée think? Oh, I see we made an omelet and then tried to feed the floor! Silly Shizu-chan! Floors don't eat eggs! But I do, so, one omelet with parsley and Swiss, if you please. Chop-chop!"_

"How can you be so calm about this?" Shizuo seethed with either anger, anxiety or a good bit of both. "What am I going to do?" Izaya blinked at him.

_"They just want to question you. No big deal. Just go in there and play dumb. You're good at that, ne, Shizu-chan? But more importantly, I found out some things about our serial killer last night."_

Shizuo momentarily calmed. "What did you learn?"

_"I know that he only has three bullets left. I saw the details of the transfer. That gun was smuggled in a shipment of rare earth minerals, but Chinese custom agents caught up with them right before they reached the port, due to an informal trade embargo that had just been imposed earlier that week. It was a good idea in theory, just bad timing."_

"Earth minerals...what?" Shizuo stared at him, blankly.

_"They're used in hybrid cars and wind turbines and such."_

"Oh..."

_"Apparently there was a little falling out about the detention of a Chinese fisherman, but that's not important. There was a bit of a tiff, and the gun didn't wind up in the original buyer's hands."_

"Who was the buyer...?" Izaya smiled, evasively.

_"A very good client of mine, whose name I cannot, in good faith, divulge."_

"Tch! Fleabag! Fine. How'd the serial killer get it?" Izaya frowned.

_"That seems to be the mystery. The harbor's a good way from here, and obviously the killer is from Ikebukuro, since that's where all the murders have taken place. And I'll warrant it's not someone with a great deal of money, a blue collar,"_ as he spoke, an evil smile began to lift the fox's mouth._ "It must have been an extreme coincidence, almost like fate that the weapon wound up in a person's hands crazy enough to use it so wantonly. My guess is that it was being transported, solo, had to be stashed somewhere in a hurry, and the serial killer happened to find it. He probably thought it was a divine message, when you think about it!" _Izaya's voice grew louder and louder with glee_. "Just imagine! You're walking along, wishing you could kill all the useless people you see, and a .44 revolver falls on your lap! It's fantastic!"_

"It's bad!" Shizuo corrected him.

_"Oh, yes...People dying, of course, is very bad,"_ Izaya quickly agreed, sounding anything but sincere as he gave his head a few firm nods. Shizuo just sighed, and began to clean up the mess he'd made of his breakfast. After he'd mopped the floor with a towel, he remade his breakfast with extra eggs for Izaya, and they both ate. _"What are you going to do?"_ Izaya followed him around as Shizuo grabbed their dishes and began to quickly wash them. He'd had plenty of practice at his work with dishes, and they were clean and dry within a matter of seconds. Izaya blinked at his speed with a silly grin before returning to his questions. _"Are you going to the police station?"_

"Yes, and I'm going to tell them everything you told me."

_"About the gun?"_

"Yes."

_"I wouldn't advise that,"_ Izaya's voice held a smirk, but there was a dangerous undertone._ "They will want to know how you know, and then you will have to tell them other things I'd rather you didn't. They won't find any information to back up your claims, anyway. My computer wipes it's hard drive clean if someone hacks into it, and it doesn't create temporary files."_ Shizuo wasn't even really sure what that meant, but he guessed that Izaya had his tracks well covered enough that he would not tell him anything that would endanger himself or his career._ "So, play dumb?"_

"Fine..." Shizuo agreed somewhat grudgingly. It wouldn't have been very fair to Izaya anyway, he supposed, though it would have been the "upstanding citizen" thing to do. "Can I use your shower?"

_"Be my guest. I would offer you a clean change of clothes, but you are the size of a small bear."_

"Tch! I doubt we have the same tastes, anyway, if that retarded looking coat's anything to go by!"

Izaya gasped, placing a paw over his heart as if Shizuo had wounded him, before bounding after him into the bathroom._ "Shower time!~"_ he sang, jumping in the tub.

"Wait, what are you doing in here?" Shizuo folded his arms and stared down at the fox looking innocently up at him with large, round eyes.

_"I want to shower too! And it's not like I can turn the water on by myself! So we should shower together!~"_

"Like HELL we should!" Shizuo growled, picking the offending creature up by the scruff. "What kind of nonsense is this?"

_"But Shizuuuu-chan!"_ Izaya whined, kicking his feet until his body swayed back and forth like a pendulum in Shizuo's grip. _"I am but a little, innocent fox who wants only to be clean! What are you so modest about? We're both men!...Sort of!"_

"Men don't shower together!" Shizuo yelled into his face before dropping him outside the door and closing it quickly.

_"But they take baths together!"_ Izaya's voice was muffled through the door.

"Bathing at the same time in a public bath isn't the same thing as bathing 'together'!" Shizuo retorted as he turned the water on and quickly undressed.

_"Nice ass."_

"AAAH!" Shizuo turned to see Izaya on top of a side table, staring at him through the aquarium, a maniacal grin plastered on his face. The man was so startled, he fell over backwards, hitting the back of his head against the sink. Izaya almost died from laughter as Shizuo scrambled to his feet, quickly wrapping a towel around his waist and rubbing the back of his bruised skull, blushing furiously.

_"Well, the honeymoon's over and I've seen you naked, now. So...shower?"_

"You son of a bitch!" Shizuo stomped up and roared through the glass, scaring all the aquatic life it contained.

_"Oh, no!~ Shizu-chan is mad at me! Run away, run away!"_ Izaya yipped, quickly retreating into the living room. Truth be told, Shizuo really didn't know why he cared so much. It wasn't like nudity was something that normally vexed him. He wasn't quite sure where this excessive shyness was coming from, but he brushed it off, attributing it to the weird situation. So he didn't want to be naked in front of a talking fox that used to be a devious information broker. So what? He quickly showered, wrinkling his nose at the effeminate shampoo and body wash he was forced to use, and dressed, leaving the water running.

"There, the bathroom's all yours," Shizuo muttered, drying his hair with a towel.

_"Well, don't you smell lovely~!"_

"Shut up!" Izaya snickered as he bounded past him into the bathroom. After a moment, he poked his small, black head around the corner, and looked at Shizuo with pleading eyes. "What?" he said flatly.

_"Could you do me the small favor of rubbing some shampoo in my fur?"_ he asked. _"Wow, that sounds awkward no matter how you say it!"_

"Seriously?" Shizuo groaned.

_"Well, I can't do it...And besides, you've done it before. I know that's before you found out my brain was larger than the size of a walnut, but still."_

Shizuo threw up his hands. "Fine!"

_"Conditioner, too?"_

"Argh! Yes! Let's just get it over with!"

_"Quick and dirty! I like Shizu-chan's style!"_

"WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST SHUT UP?"

* * *

><p>Shizuo sat in one of the waiting chairs in the Ikebukuro Police Station, trying his hardest not to nervously tap his foot. Once they were both showered and dried, Izaya and he had spent the entire walk to the station rehearsing what he'd say. It was a good twenty minutes before he was invited to an investigating officer's desk.<p>

"Have a seat, Mr. Heiwajima," the older man gestured to the chair directly in front of him. Shizuo complied, placing his hands on his knees. "So, you were at the hotel the night of the shooting, tell me what happened." He took out a pen to write and looked up at Shizuo, expectantly.

"Well, I was in the parking garage, and I happened to see this figure all dressed in black sneak in through the side door. I saw that he was carrying a gun and knew that it must be the serial killer, so I tried to warn the front desk."

"What were you doing in the parking garage at 4:00?" The cop asked, continuing to write what Shizuo had previously said.

"Uh...my friends and I were practicing parkour. We like to do it when there's no one around."

"Parkour...?"

"You know, when you run around and jump up and over walls and stuff?" Shizuo waved his hands around, trying to explain.

"I...see..." Shizuo somehow doubted it. "So you and your friends were doing parkour...and one usually dresses in black for these activities?"

"Y-yeah! It's like a ninja thing...or something..." Shizuo started to mumble, feeling a little stupid. From the look the cop was giving him, it seemed he agreed.

"So, you saw the perpetrator enter the building from the side door, and then you alone went to warn the front desk?"

"Yeah, all my friends got scared and ran off!" Shizuo laughed, scratching the back of his head.

"How did you know the politician was staying at that hotel?"

"Well, uh, we saw the welcome banner out front for him?" Shizuo prayed that there was indeed a banner, as Izaya said. The cop eyed him cynically for a moment, before tossing his clip board on the desk.

"Well, Mr. Heiwajima, your story checks out."

"Great!" Shizuo rose to leave but didn't take one step before the officer held up his hand for him to halt.

"Not so fast. There's still the little incident where you kicked a hole through the front lobby desk." Oh, crap...he'd forgot about that... "I've been informed that you're already in anger management for previous to violence, so if this is another instance of-"

"I tripped! That's all! Really!"

"You...tripped...and sent your foot through two solid inches of wood?"

"Yes! I was wearing very heavy shoes!"

"Heavy shoes...while you practiced parkour?"

"Better workout?" Shizuo grinned nervously, pleading with his eyes. The cop rubbed his eyes, wearily, and sighed.

"Fine. But you still gotta pay for it."

Shizuo blanched a bit, before he suddenly remembered that he had Izaya's wallet in his pocket. "Do they take credit cards?" he asked, holding up one of the pieces of plastic between two fingers. He paid the fine and left, feeling a huge wave of relief, until a certain, furry, black fox ran up his backside and onto his shoulders.

_"Well, you're not incarcerated, so that means everything went well, yes?"_ Izaya hummed, wrapping his tail around Shizuo's neck in what was quickly becoming a familiar way.

"Well, yeah," Shizuo smiled a little sheepishly. "I kind of owe you some money, though. There was a fine for the hole I put in the front desk." Izaya blinked at him, and barked a small laugh.

_"Oh, Shizu-chan, the boundless entertainment you provide me is payment enough!"_

"Well, thanks, I guess, but I should still pay you back."

_"As you like. Or you could just agree to give me long, relaxing, deep massage, shampoo and conditioner sessions in the tub!"_

Shizuo shook his head, taking out a much needed cigarette. The rest of the week proved to be fairly uneventful, with Shizuo periodically running Izaya back to his condo in Shinjuku and both of them trying their best to avoid Hisa until it was time for work. Izaya always accompanied him to the bar and amused himself by listening to tidbits of information from the customers, as he wandered among the tables, often sitting at their feet. It didn't seem to bother people. In fact, everyone was quite taken with the bar's new, furry mascot, and regulars started bringing little pieces of fish and other treats for Izaya, which he accepted quite readily. The next appointment Shizuo had with Shinra was the best one yet. The doctor told him that he looked calmer than he'd ever seen, though he was quick to add that people often lapsed into a very tranquil state before completely losing it.

"Oh, but I'm sure that's not you!" he was quick to add. Shizuo twitched an eyebrow at him, but quickly brightened when Shinra mentioned that he didn't have to come to the next appointment, if he didn't want to. That sounded like progress, and it was music to Shizuo's ears. After that, time just started to fly, and before Shizuo knew it, he and Izaya were both strolling into his work the night before Kasuka was due for the visit.

_"Oh, I wonder what my minions have brought me today~"_

"You're a spoiled brat."

_"You loooove me, because everybody loves me, and you are part of everybody~"_

"...Are you insane?" Izaya hopped off his shoulder onto the counter and then the floor.

_"Mmm, perhaps! But more importantly, it's almost time for our serial killer to strike again! And I think I might be getting an inkling of his next victim!"_

"Really? Who?"

"Can't say yet, but we should definitely ask Yoshi about it! His opinions are always fascinating!"

Shizuo frowned. Yoshi had seen his face in the news when they flashed that composite drawing, and he'd not been happy one bit. He wouldn't even talk to Shizuo for an entire day and spent the next two scolding him. Unlike the police, he couldn't really make up anything to tell him, so he just said he'd been walking by. But still, Shizuo couldn't understand why he cared so much! It was like the guy freaked out if anything out of the ordinary happened. So, asking him about the serial killer was really the last thing he wanted to do. Just then, Yoshi walked in from the back.

"Hey," Shizuo waved.

"Hi there, citizen! Staying out of trouble?"

"Yeah," Shizuo shrugged.

"I see you have Saturday off this week. Mind if I ask what the occasion is?"

"My little brother's coming to visit, tomorrow."

"Ah, the actor? There's a good boy! So polite! So quiet! Very good role model for our youth!"

"I suppose..." Shizuo felt a tug on his pants leg and looked down to see Izaya tossing his head at Yoshi suggestively. He sighed. "So...haven't heard anything about the serial killer in a while...think he's left town?"

"Oh, I doubt it! Too much work he has to do, here! Ikebukuro is full of garbage."

"That's kind of cold," Shizuo chuckled, nervously, as Yoshi finished slicing some limes and throwing them in a plastic bin. He paused and pointed the paring knife at Shizuo.

"Look, the last thing this city needs is more bleeding hearts."

"I would have thought the last thing we needed was a serial killer," Shizuo joked. He was surprised when a flash of anger passed over his face.

"Well," he shrugged, the mood quickly passing, "time for me to get going."

"Have a good night." Yoshi nodded, and left. Izaya let out a bark and a laugh.

_"Just love him!"_

Shizuo said nothing as he watched him leave. He rolled out a crick in his neck. "That guy just gets weirder and weirder. Wonder what his deal is..." Izaya favored him with a knowing smirk, but said nothing. "Oh well. Hope we're not too busy tonight. Kasuka's supposed to meet me at Hisa's house at 10:00. Want to try to get a decent night's sleep tonight."

_"No chasing serial killers? How dull."_

"Well, it's been a couple of months since the last time I saw him. I'd rather not be a brain dead zombie."

Izaya tilted his head at him. _"You seem a great deal more excited about your brother than I've ever seen you be about your betrothed."_

"Kasuka's special," Shizuo shrugged, walking to greet a customer at the counter. Izaya padded after him, eyeing the tall blonde, curiously as Shizuo got the man a beer out of the cooler, and poured it into a pub glass before ringing him up.

_"If he's so special, why don't you see him more often?"_

"Well, he's busy. And someone like him doesn't need to be hanging out with someone like me. I'd damage his image. I never did anything but cause him trouble when we were kids with my bad temper. And now, he has a really good thing going. He doesn't need me around to muck it up." Shizuo muttered the last part. Izaya's expression was unreadable, and his ears flicked back momentarily. He shook his coat and quickly replaced mysterious look with a smirk.

_"Well, Shizu-chan, you are kind of pathetic. Didn't know you were the 'brotherly love' type."_

"Shut up, flea bag!" Shizuo warned with a growl.

_"You should pity his pathetic and boring life. I mean, honestly, you're obviously waaaay more fortunate."_

"Oh really? And why is that?"

_"Because you have ME, of course! Silly Shizu-chan!"_ Izaya yipped as he leapt on the counter and then onto the bartender's shoulders.

"Yippee..." his voice was very unenthusiastic. Izaya put his paws against his head.

_"I know I bring you overwhelming joy like Christmas morning every day, but please, try to contain yourself. And tonight, on the way home, we're stopping to get some hair dye so you can touch up your roots. Can't have my Shizu-chan showing up all kinds of sideways! What would they think of me?"_

"They don't even know about you!" Shizuo said, exasperated, but it was not lost on him that once again, Izaya was trying to be kind, even if he was terrible at it.

_"And then, after you're finished, you can give me one of those, oh so relaxing, soapy massages that I adore so much."_

"Argh! When are you going to be human again so I can get rid of you!" Shizuo wailed, walking into the back to fetch more soda water. Izaya sighed loudly, jumping from his perch.

_"Ah, Shizu-chan. I'm afraid there's been practically no progress on that front."_

"Well, maybe if you actually TOLD me what it was you needed, I could help you out like that old lady said. I mean, it's like you don't care if you stay a fox forever. Don't you want to be human again?"

_"Of course I do, you bumbling neanderthal! What do you think I've been doing online every time we go to Shinjuku? Trolling Christian dating sites?"_

"...What?" Izaya just continued on.

_"I only did that for like, 20 minutes! The rest of the time has been solely devoted to finding a way to break this wretched curse!"_

"Well, did you find anything?"

_"Do I still have a tail?"_ Izaya thrashed the appendage about, irritably.

"Yes."

_"THEN NO! There's nothing! Absolutely nothing! I don't even know who that old woman IS!"_

"Seems unusual for you to actually not know something," Shizuo commented, earnestly.

_"Don't think that simple fact alone doesn't irk me to death,"_ Izaya laid his ears flat against his head and bared his teeth, his red eyes flashing. _"I'm running out of places to look, and when that time comes, you'll just have to be a man and put me out of my misery."_

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting now, flea bag?"

_"I'd make a very handsome wrap, I'm sure; maybe even a pair of ear muffs. Just don't let Hisa wear me, otherwise I'll haunt you."_

"Would you shut the hell up? I'm not going to kill you! That's! That's...stupid!"

_"Ever elegant with your choice of words, Shizu-chan,"_ Izaya's look darkened._ "But I've not use for a life where I cannot be with my humans."_

"You're always talking like that! 'Your humans'! You make it sound like you weren't one of them at all! They were just things to you; things that you could jerk around! Maybe being a fox does suit you better!"

_"Nyet! Humans exist for my enjoyment! They're the greatest entertainment this planet has to offer! What point is there in living if you can't observe the greatest show on earth?"_

"Well, I'm a human," Shizuo said simply. Izaya glanced up at him again with the same, odd expression, before curling into a ball under the counter.

_"Oh, Shizu-chan. You're not a human. You're my neanderthal."_ He didn't say anything more on the subject and quickly fell asleep. Shizuo furrowed his brow at him. He must have really been dumb, because Izaya almost NEVER made sense to him. However, the thought of the fox not existing anymore didn't sit well with the bartender at all. Over the past couple of weeks, as much as Shizuo hated to admit it, he'd gotten kind of used to having someone to talk to, even if it was an obnoxious little flea bag. He'd gotten used to not being alone, and Shizuo found it rather odd that he felt that way, even though he was getting married in several months. He wondered throughout the night, as Izaya slept, if that was normal.

Finally, something seemed to go Shizuo's way, as the bar emptied out half an hour before close, giving him plenty of time to clean and stock. Izaya slept throughout the whole night, and Shizuo didn't bother to wake him until it was time to go home. Without any warning, he picked up the little black fox and tucked him under his arm. Izaya's red eyes popped open in surprise.

"Time to go," Shizuo grunted. Upon seeing he wasn't in any sort of danger, Izaya merely closed his eyes again and fell back into a deep sleep which lasted the entire walk home. Shizuo wondered briefly if he might be getting sick but then decided there was probably just a lot on his mind. He hadn't ever really considered how completely distraught Izaya must be, having been transformed like that. It was probably because the previous informant hid it so well. Izaya always more a mask of lofty amusement and often indifference, but there wasn't a person out there who could turned into a fox and not be upset, or in the very least, afraid. Shizuo continued to mull over these things in his mind, as he stopped at a 24 hour convenience store to pick up some more hair dye. Of course, the really big question was why he was giving this so much thought when he was going to see Kasuka in the morning. With that thought, Shizuo unconsciously hurried his step until they were inside the small apartment. He placed Izaya in a nest of clothes on his closet floor, a good place considering Hisa's surprise visits, and quickly got ready for bed. After setting his alarm, he lay on his pillow, gazing at the ceiling. Sleep wasn't coming easy. Rolling on his side, Shizuo stared at the closet door, and, on impulse, slid out of bed to creak it open and peer inside. He chuckled when he saw Izaya running in place as he slept, apparently dreaming. Such a fleabag. Without really knowing why, he picked the fox up off the floor and returned to the bed, setting him on one side. Locking the bedroom door so as not to be caught off guard, he climbed into the other side of the bed and pulled the covers over both of them. Feeling the little ball of fur and warmth against his back, Shizuo quickly drifted off into a deep sleep.

The alarm began to ring what seemed moments later. Shizuo groggily felt around for the clock, and knocked it off the bed stand in his clumsy effort to silence it. It clamored to the floor, still sounding away. _"Aaaargh..." _Izaya groaned, trying unsuccessfully to cover his large ears with tiny paws. _"Give me a hammer so I can put that thing out of it's misery!"_ he growled. Grimacing from all the racket, Shizuo leaned halfway out of the bed, groping around blindly on the floor until his hand found the clock's cord. He quickly yanked it out the wall, and the noise stopped. He waved it around triumphantly, before flopping back on his pillow. Izaya yawned, but his eyes widened momentarily when he looked around and saw that he was snuggled up next to the blonde, under the covers. Interesting...Shizuo usually dumped him in the closet when he fell asleep. He snickered, and laid a paw on Shizuo's bare shoulder, gently shaking him into coherency.

_"Morning, cupcake!" _he crooned.

"Uh...What the hell, flea bag?" Shizuo was too tired to even get that upset over the stupid name.

_"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the part where you lovingly prepare breakfast and serve me in bed?"_

Shizuo's eyes popped open in rage at the insinuation, and he quickly grabbed Izaya by the scruff, shaking him furiously. "What the fuck, Izaya? That's! That's just insane! Shut your god damn mouth!" But Izaya couldn't help himself.

_"I know, right? Not only am I male, but I'm also not even human!~ Oh, it's all sorts of delicious taboo~!"_

"IIIIIZAAAAYAAAA!"

Izaya began barking, unable to contain his mirth, as he flipped out of Shizuo's hold and quickly hopped out of his reach. Completely enraged, Shizuo lunged for him but only succeeded in catching air as the fox was far too quick. Just as he was picking up the small table lamp on the side of his bed to hurl it, Izaya piped up. _"Hold it, neanderthal! Before we start destroying things, don't you have to start getting ready for your dear brother, whom you love oh so much?"_

Shizuo let the lamp in his hand fall back to the bedside table. "Oh yeah..." He slid out of bed and grabbed the bag from the convenience store and went into the bathroom. Izaya waited a moment, before following him curiously. Shizuo wrapped a towel around his neck and started removing the small bottle of hair dye from the box. Izaya's eyes lit up.

_"Ah, took me up on my advice, ne?"_

"Yeah, well," Shizuo started running the bathwater. "It was about time for it, anyway."

_"Why do you dye your hair, Shizu-chan?" _Izaya sounded like he truly wanted to know. The bartender shrugged.

"When I was in middle school, they made us all participate in this stupid ass play, and I was supposed to be the prince or something dumb like that, AND DON'T YOU START! I already said it was dumb and it was only because I'm always the damn tallest in the class!" he pointed his finger in the fox's grinning face. Izaya's eyes were sparkling, but he held his tongue. "And, well, anyway, they talked me into dying my hair, cause, you know, they thought it would be closer to the real play. And then I noticed that people seemed to piss me off less."

_"They learned to avoid the color?"_

"That's what Kasuka said, so I just kept it up."

_"Mmm. Well, there are worse colors, certainly," _Izaya hummed. Shizuo shrugged at him again, not really liking his hair being the topic of conversation.

"What color was your hair?" he asked quite suddenly, turning away as he wet his hair. Izaya blinked at the not so delicate shift in conversation.

_"Ah ha...Hmm...well pretty much the same color it is, now." _Shizuo smiled as he put on the plastic gloves and began working the dye through his hair. Izaya actually sounded a little...shy? He quickly decided to run with this as far as the fox would let him.

"Black, huh? You full Japanese?"

_"Well my surname IS Orihara. What do you think?"_

"Yeah, but 'Izaya' isn't."

_"My parents had...strange naming habits."_

"I see..." Shizuo tried to imagine what Izaya looked like in his mind, but it wasn't very much to go on. "How tall were you?"

_"Tall enough, I suppose. Why all the questions, Shizzu-chan?"_ Izaya smirked. Shizuo rinsed out this hair, patting it with the towel. Looking in the mirror, he noticed that some of the dye had colored his skin an odd shade of orange around his hair line, but it wouldn't be noticeable when it dried.

"Just curious, fleabag. Why so uptight about it? Were you ugly?"

Izaya chuckled dryly. _"Well, you see Shizu-chan, beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder, and I cannot uninhibitedly 'behold' myself, therefore I would need an outside party to determine my attractiveness, and I was never interested in hearing an opinion."_

"I'm not hearing 'no'," Shizuo grinned, as he finished fixing his hair and began washing his face.

_"You should have been hearing the end of the conversation, neanderthal," _Izaya smirked back. _"My looks do not interest me, therefore I do not wish to talk about them."_

"Where'd you learn to speak Russian?"

_"Picked it up on the job. Wǒ yě huì shuō Zhōngwén."_

"Wha...?" Shizuo blinked.

_"I can also speak Chinese. Not all the world's information can be found in Japanese, you know?"_

"Hm, I suppose... That's really impressive!" It was Izaya's turn to blink at him. "I mean, to know so many languages! Must have been really hard to learn. I think English is a nightmare! I almost flunked out of highschool because of it! And to just be able to pick it up for your job, I don't know. It's really admirable!"

Izaya looked like he wasn't quite sure how to answer. No doubt the little fox was torn between the flattery and wanting to make a snarky comment on Shizuo's intellect. He was surprised that the bartender was so honest and forthcoming with compliments, even knowing that Izaya wasn't really a moral person, at least, not in the traditional sense. He found himself strangely thinking that it was admirable to not suffer from the pride and jealousy the fox was so used to dealing with in other people; those same flaws he often used to manipulate and control. Not for the first time, Izaya wondered at the bartender.

_"Mmm, yes, many marvel at my vast intellect. No doubt you are dazzled by it's glory."_

"Whatever, fleabag!" Just then, Shizuo's phone began to ring. "Yeah?" he answered. "Kasuka! You're here? Okay! Give me five minutes! I'll be right down!" Shizuo threw down the phone and hastily dressed in a button up shirt with a blue jacket, slacks and a belt. He turned to the fox with his hands outstretched in an unspoken question. Izaya looked him up and down and shrugged.

_"I suppose you look halfway decent," _he sniffed. Shizuo shook his head, but smiled, and quickly made his way towards the door.

"What are you going to do, today?"

_"Ah, I think today is a good day to start some rumors," _Izaya's smile was a little evil as he lept into his computer chair. Shizuo had moved the fox's "information center" to his apartment the last time they'd gone to Shinjuku, so that they didn't have to keep frequenting Izaya's condo so much. Shizuo eyed him suspiciously, but didn't really have time to interrogate the fox.

"Try not to cause too much trouble, okay? I'll be back this evening." Izaya simply blinked innocently at him. "And I left the porch door open so you can get outside." From the balcony, Izaya had discovered he could leap to the fire escape and make his way down to the ground easily enough. But he often accompanied Shizuo everywhere in order to avoid running into Hisa alone, so there never had been a need until today. "And there's some egg wheels and milk on the counter. I'll grab dinner on the way home. And-"

_"Alright, Daddy! I'll survive without you for a day, I'm sure! Go play with your brother." _He waived him on with a paw. Shizuo grinned at him, a little embarrassed at getting so carried away, before racing out the door.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Oh my, what fluff! :P Next chapter might be the last, not sure. If it is, it will be a long one. I feel it's time to get the party started. Party, party, party..._


	3. Chapter 3

_Eeep! Sorry this is so short. It's also not the last chapter. I had some personal stuff come up this week and didn't have time to write. ^^;; So, yah! Epilogue next time? Yayz!_

* * *

><p>Kasuka folded his arms, and leaned back into the plush leather seats of his luxury sedan the agency was currently chauffeuring him around in. He regarded his brother a little quizzically, as Shizuo looked back in the direction of his quickly disappearing apartment building for about the tenth time.<p>

"Forget something?" he finally asked, though there was hardly any inflection in his voice.

"Oh! Uh...no! Of course not! Ha ha!" Shizuo scratched the back of his head nervously. Kasuka just quirked an eyebrow at him, but didn't press the subject. "I can't thank you enough for coming with me, today."

"It's not a big deal," Kasuka assured him. "How's your job going?"

Shizuo tried not to lose the smile on his face at the question. Kasuka always asked like it was nothing, but there was a history of concern for his employment, and it was always embarrassing to have it brought up. "It's fine. Totally fine."

"And that other thing...you know. The anger management?"

"Couldn't be better. The doc says I don't even have to go anymore, if I don't want to."

A flicker of a smile swept over Kasuka's face, but it vanished just as quickly. There was silence for a few moments, as the car left the crowded confines of the city and they began to see more open land. It was amazing how fast the scenery changed. Hisa's parents only lived a couple of miles away, but wealthy people could afford enough land to completely isolate and obscure their homes from view, even so close to a bustling city. They'd be there sooner than later, and Shizuo felt his pulse quicken with nerves.

"Kasuka," Shizuo's voice was unusually hesitant, "Could I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you think...well...That is...sometimes I feel like...Argh!"

"Just say it, brother."

Shizuo took a deep breath. Here went nothing. "Sometimes I think...it might be okay to just do whatever you want, you know? Whatever you feel like! Just because it's your life, and you only get one, right?" Kasuka blinked at him. "Don't you ever feel like that, sometimes? Like just letting everything go? People are always telling me how wrong I am. How I can't do anything right. What if it's not wrong? What if it's just different?"

"...What's different?"

"Me. What if I'm just different? What if I never fit in? Wouldn't that...be okay?"

Kasuka stared at him for a moment before shrugging. "You're talking to an actor. I'm whoever people want me to be for a living. My job is to fit into any situation they give me. But they don't force me to do it. Shizuo, no one can force you to be anything you're not. You either choose it, or you choose to ignore what other people think, and there really is no absolution either way." Shizuo was shocked. He hadn't heard his little brother talk so much in his entire life. "But I have to admit that I'm surprised. Fitting in was always so important to you. It seemed like your ultimate goal in life was to be invisible, though you suck at it." Shizuo chuckled. He was going to give Kasuka the benefit of the doubt and assume that was a light hearted jab. "So, what's got you thinking about this, now?"

"Don't know...Just thinking about a lot of things lately, I guess."

"You worry too much." Gee, where had Shizuo heard that before?

"Maybe...We're almost there." True enough, not more than five minutes later, Kasuka's driver pulled into a long drive, lined by tall trees. Hisa's parents' house always amazed Shizuo with it's expansive grounds and lavish gardens. The inside of the house was exactly like the outside, perfectly decorated, not a crystal glass or flower arrangement out of place. Shizuo wondered how they managed to make it always look like a picture from a magazine even when they stayed there. Maybe they never really lived there at all; there was certainly never any evidence of human inhabitence. As for Kasuka, well, if he was at all impressed he certainly didn't show it. Shizuo imagined his little brother probably saw fancy places all the time. Once the car stopped, Shizuo immediately jumped out, feeling too silly to sit there and let the driver open the door for him. Together, the pair walked up the cobblestone pathway to the large, glass laden, front door. With a firm resolve, Shizuo reached out and rang the doorbell. Not for the first time, he thanked the heavens that Kasuka was there with him, and he didn't have to face Hisa's family alone.

A moment later, a refined, older woman with a wide smile that showed a lot of teeth, but decidedly lacked friendliness, answered the door. "Shizuo, so good to see you again," Hisa's mother nodded to him. Shizuo somewhat stiffly bowed back.

"Thank you for inviting us to your home. I'd like to introduce my brother, Kasuka Heiwajima." He tried not to grind his teeth at the way her face immediately lit up like a frickin' Christmas tree.

"Oh, Mr. Heiwajima, it's such a pleasure," she bowed deeply. "We are such big fans of all your movies. It is an honor to have you in our humble abode."

Kasuka blinked a little at the over the top greeting, and cast a sideways glance at an already very annoyed Shizuo before returning the bow. "Thank you, Ms. Akiyama. It is I who am honored." She quickly gestured for them to follow her, and after a brief walk through the ground floor of the house, they exited through two large, bay doors out into the gardens. Hisa, her father, and her grandparents were already seated next to a fountain, enjoying tea. Hisa's father's eyes narrowed at the sight of his daughter's fiance, but quickly turned all smiles. He and Hisa stood as they approached.

"Shizuo, my boy. So...good to see you. And I see you've brought a friend. How nice."

"Daddy!" Hisa sounded mortified. "This is Yuhei Hanejima! Shizuo's younger brother!"

The man squinted at her in confusion for a moment. "Oh! The actor! Of course. I'm sorry, sweet heart," he chuckled before extending his hand to Kasuka. "I apologize. I just assumed your hair would be blond, but I see now that your brother actually chooses that color."

"Because it looks great on him!" Hisa affirmed, patting Shizuo's arm in passing as she took his younger brother's arm. "Kasuka, it's so wonderful you could make it. I'd like you to meet my grandparents. Oh, you too, Shizuo, of course!"

'Thanks for including me,' the blonde thought glumly as he walked around the table to bow to the older couple. They smiled politely and bowed back and then everyone took their seats. Hisa's mother returned with a tray of fresh tea and an assortment of fruit and baked goods. Shizuo's hand immediately darted out for one that had frosting, slightly happier now that there were sweets. Kasuka politely declined the snacks and sipped on his tea.

"Have you picked a date yet," Hisa's grandmother smiled brightly at her.

"We're thinking we should wait until I graduate from school."

"Or you could just wait forever."

"Daddy!" Hisa giggled, obviously taking everything the man said as a joke. Somehow Shizuo doubted he was trying to be funny.

"Well that's very wise," Hisa's grandfather nodded his approval. "No reason to rush these things. What do you do for a living, my boy?"

Shizuo cleared his throat. "I'm a bartender."

"Ah, how nice. And you are an actor?" he asked Kasuka.

"Yes, sir."

"Isn't it just amazing where life takes us? You never know what you're going to wind up doing. I myself was a valet before getting up the courage to show my portfolio to an architectural firm."

"Architecture is fascinating," Kasuka offered, giving his silent older brother a small kick in the shin with his foot.

"Yeah, that must have been tough before we had computers," was the best he came up with.

"Oh, Shizuo, you don't even have a computer now!" Hisa laughed.

"Yeah I do! I have one in the apartment right now!" Shizuo proclaimed, leaving out the part about it not being his, exactly.

"Well, that's a mercy, isn't it? Do you have a T.V., too?" Hisa's father asked, taking another sip of tea.

"Yes, why?"

"Just wondering if you saw your face on the news a couple of weeks ago." All eyes at the table turned to look at him, and Shizuo felt his face quickly flush.

"Shizuo, what is he talking about?" Hisa's voice was calm, but there was an edge to it.

"Oh, it was nothing, really. Just a mistake."

"Being wanted for questioning about the local killings doesn't seem like nothing to me." Shizuo narrowed his eyes at Hisa's father. Making him squirm was one of his greatest joys.

"Killings? Like, the ones by the serial killer?" Hisa gasped. Her grandparents looked utterly mortified. Shizuo wanted to beat his head against the table in frustration.

"Yes! But I can explain! I just happened to be in the area and see the guy go into the building! I tried to WARN them!"

"Wearing all black? And that shooting happened in the middle of the night. What were you doing out near a hotel in the middle of the night?" Her father inquired Shizuo was just about ready to throw the table if this man didn't back off.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Shizuo! Really!" Hisa glanced nervously at her family and back to him. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything wrong! I told you, I was trying to warn them! Oh, wait...I guess I did kick a hole through the reception desk."

"Shizuo!" Hisa folded her arms, crossly. Her father just laughed.

"Guess those anger management sessions aren't working so well," he chuckled.

"They're working FINE. In fact, I don't even have to go to them anymore."

"Well, glad to see the government considers you not to be a threat to society."

"Daddy, stop," Hisa warned. She glared at Shizuo. "You could have told me."

"Why deny your father the pleasure?" Shizuo muttered under his breath. The rest of the meal was spent in uncomfortable silence. Hisa was upset with him...again. Her father and mother continued to glare at him over their tea cups, and Kasuka and the grandparents just looked like they wanted to be anywhere but there. This visit was going just how he figured it would.

"Ms. Akiyama, I'd love a tour of your gardens, if that's okay." Kasuka suddenly said. For Shizuo's younger brother to be the first one to talk, it meant that things were really bad.

"Of course. It's a shame you've come in the late fall. It's much better when the flowers are in bloom. Why don't we all take a walk?"

"It's getting quite chilly, today," Hisa's grandmother bowed slightly as she spoke. "I think it might actually snow soon."

"You go ahead," the grandfather said to Hisa's mother. "We'll be inside."

"I think I'll join you, stimulating though the conversation's been," Hisa's father stood up. "Pleasure meeting you, Kasuka. Shizuo, I'm sure I'll see you again."

The brothers both stood up and bowed, and Hisa walked to stand by her mother as the group parted ways. Falling a little behind, Shizuo fell in step with Kasuka, shoving his hands deep in his pockets.

"Well," Kasuka's voice was low so Hisa and her mother wouldn't hear it. "That guy was...pleasant."

"Yeah, he's a real treat. If you weren't here, it would have been worse."

"I find it odd she would subject you to this."

"She does what she wants."

"Is that okay with you?"

"Doesn't it kind of have to be?"

Kasuka shrugged as they caught up to Hisa and her mother, so she could inform them about the numerous statues and plants. Hisa spent most of her time on Kasuka's other side, casting dark glances Shizuo's way every now and then. In fact, Shizuo found himself lighting a cigarette as the other three continued walking ahead of him by a few steps. He didn't even care about his brother's kind reception into the family, by this point he was just glad Kasuka was diverting the attention away from him. 'Maybe this day won't be so bad. Pretty soon, we can make our excuses and leave, and then go have some real fun,' Shizuo thought to himself with a smile. But, as usual, things didn't quite go how he planned. About 15 minutes into their walk, they heard a commotion coming from behind the hedges in a far corner of the garden. The family dogs, two Irish Setters, were barking and growling in a fit.

"What on earth is all the commotion about?" Hisa's mother wondered as they headed towards the source of the noise. "They're usually so calm."

"Maybe they caught something." Kasuka suggested. Shizuo didn't know why, but he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. And to confirm his mounting fears, there was a surprised yelp of pain amidst the large dogs' voices, followed by short little bursts of barking that Shizuo would recognize anywhere.

"God dammit!" Shizuo cursed, and he took off in a run towards the dogs, much to the confusion of everyone around him. Turning a corner on the wall of bushes, his fears were confirmed. The two much larger animals had cornered the little black fox against a wall, leaving him no room to escape. His razor sharp teeth were bared, and every hair on the little fox's back was standing straight up.

"Izaya!"

"_Shizu-chan! YARP!_" Izaya gave a cry as one of the dogs lunged and nipped his front right leg as he lept out of the way. Shizuo didn't think. With a roar of fury, he quickly dove for the dog that bit Izaya, and with a spin flung the creature into the nearest fountain. It let out a prolonged howl as it soared through the air over Hisa's mother's head. The woman, seeing one of her pets airborne, screamed and gripped her face in horror.

"Alexander!" She cried.

"Shizuo, stop it!" Hisa yelled. Kasuka ran to try and restrain his brother, but not before Izaya jumped on the bartender's shoulder. At the sudden movement, the other dog tried to take a bite out of the fox as it jumped past, but the animal quickly met the same fate as it's friend had, except this time, Shizuo flung the dog into a tree.

"Georgette!"

"Shizuo!"

"Brother, calm down," Kasuka was the first to reach him. He took a step back when a row of shiny, sharp teeth and red eyes flashed at him. Izaya chattered at him in a warning, already agitated, and shook his bleeding paw. Once Shizuo stopped heaving, he grabbed the fox by the scruff and held him eye level.

"What the fuck, Izaya! What are you doing here? You could have been killed!"

"_Awe, would that make Shizu-chan sad? Stop shaking me, neanderthal! I'm injured!_"

"Not as much as you're going to be when I pound your face in!"

"_That's just how Shizu-chan shows affection!_" Izaya chirped, cutely swinging his legs back and forth. "_Please don't be cross! I was just curious to see how your morning was going! Looks like it went absolutely ghastly, as expected!_" Shizuo growled in frustration.

"I shouldn't have even bothered to save you from those dogs!"

"Brother," Kasuka cut in to the seemingly one sided conversation. "Are you...talking to that fox?"

Shizuo mouth dropped, and his hand slackened enough for Izaya to wiggle free and fall to the ground. He let out a hiss when he landed on his injured paw, and sat on Shizuo's shoe and he surveyed the damage. "N-no! Of course not!"

Just then, Hisa rounded the corner.

"_Uh oh..._" Izaya hummed. He quickly ran back up to Shizuo's shoulder, wrapping his tail around his neck. Shizuo looked up and saw her as well, all the color draining from his face.

"Oh, god..." He muttered, covering his face with his hand. "Here it comes..."

"SHIZUO HEIWAJIMA! Is that what I think it is!" She pointed accusingly at Izaya, who gave a little bark.

"Hisa, I can explain-"

"And you threw my mother's dogs! For that...THING!"

"Hisa-"

"NO! I don't want to hear it! Shizuo, everything with you is just a mess! And now you've lied to me!"

"Hisa, I couldn't just leave him out on the street," Shizuo tried to sound as meek and apologetic as possible, but it was to no avail.

"That thing is bleeding all over your suit!" She mumbled, turning the other way and crossing her arms. "Shizuo, I really hate to do this, especially in front of your brother..."

"Hisa, can't we talk about this?" Shizuo pleaded.

"_Bark! Bark!_"

"Shut the fuck up, fleabag!" he hissed. Hisa just shook her head at him, forlornly. Sliding off her ring, she held it out to him. Gravely, he walked a few steps forward and took it into his hand.

"I'm sorry, Shizuo. It's not going to work out. You're just too...too..."

Izaya cut off her sentence with his yipping, and she let out a disgusted huff before walking away. Shizuo had a feeling he knew what she was going to say, but not having to hear it made the overwhelming ache in his chest better. Silently, the brothers returned to the car they had driven in, and Kasuka asked the driver for a handkerchief. Shizuo accepted the piece of cloth with a small thank you, and mutely wrapped Izaya's paw to protect the seat cushions. Izaya made a satisfied humming noise. After he was finished, Shizuo stared out the window with a grim look on his face.

"Shizuo," Kasuka put a hand on his shoulder, but Shizuo jerked away.

"Don't!" he warned. "She's right! It's useless! I'm useless!"

"Brother..."

"I'm sorry, Kasuka. I'm sorry I'm a failure all the time."

"Is that really how you think I feel?" Was that irritation in his little brother's voice? Shizuo couldn't believe it. He'd never heard his brother sound irritated before. Could this day possibly be any worse? They arrived back at the apartment complex, and Shizuo tucked Izaya under his arm to step out of the car. After he'd closed the door, Kasuka rolled down the window and leaned towards him. "I'm going to be out of town for a while, starting next week."

"Okay."

"It was good to see you, anyway."

Shizuo didn't answer, and the car drove away. He slowly dragged himself up to his apartment and quietly closed the door, turning the lock. "_Oh, Shizu-chan! Now we are free! No more sneaking around from the ogress! Isn't that-_" Izaya stopped when something wet fell on his head. He flinched, as Shizuo set him down on the floor before slowly sitting down and drawing his knees up to his chest to bury his face in. "_Shizu-chan?_" Izaya curiously placed a paw on him, and he could feel the man's body shake, ever so slightly. Without knowing why, his tail flicked back and forth in agitation. "_Shizu-chan, distinguished gentlemen don't cry. Neither do neanderthals. What's wrong with you?_" Shizuo didn't answer, he only drew his knees in tighter. "_Er, I mean, what's wrong? Not with you! Nothing's wrong with you!_" Izaya layed his ears flat when Shizuo's honey colored eyes, glistening with tears, looked at him in confusion. "_What I meant, is, you're a PERFECT neanderthal!_" The fox quickly recovered. "_So...stop crying...okay?_"

"I've ruined...everything," Shizuo wiped his nose with the side of his hand. "Again...I'm such a fuck up."

"_Okay, look,_" Izaya glanced around nervously. "_I'm just going to put this out there once, so, uh listen up. Geez, I can't believe I'm doing this,_" the last part came out in a mutter. With a sigh, the fox stood up on his hind legs, resting his front paws on Shizuo's knees. "_Shizuo, look at me. Look at my adorable, fuzzy face for a moment._" Shizuo rolled his eyes, but complied, looking directly into Izaya's oddly colored eyes. "_You are not a fuck up. You're probably the best person I know. That woman was lucky to have you and a complete fool for casting you aside. And the only thing that makes you dumb is that you can't see that._" Shizuo sniffled a little and Izaya groaned. Being so nice was killing him on the inside.

"You really think that?" Shizuo asked.

"_Ugh! Of course not!_" Izaya sounded disgusted, but mostly at himself. "_I think you're pathetic! You're a total fuck up! You know why? You should have thrown that woman and her mother in the fountain, too! And your brother's a lousy wingman!_"

Shizuo took a swing at Izaya's nose, but the fox quickly lept out of the way. "You're a real bastard, you know that, fleabag?" he roared, and then promptly buried his face in his knees again. But somehow, he felt better. Izaya was always the one that made him feel better, and that fact was becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

"Yup! But I'm all you've got, Shizu-chan! And~ our serial killer is going to strike again tonight, and I just might happen to know where he's going to be."

Shizuo's head snapped up with purpose. "When, and where." His voice was immediately gruff again, and his eyes glowered. An evil grin spread across Izaya's face.

"_That's my Shizu-chan! But first,_" Izaya gave him a coy smile and his voice became meek and childish. "Can Daddy fix my boo-boo?" He held out his injured paw, the handkerchief now stained with blood and hanging loosely around the wound. Shizuo ground his teeth.

"When you turn human again, I am so punching you in the face!"

"_Ooooh, scary, scary! Shizu-chan will have to catch me first!_"

"Shut up and get your fluffy ass in the bathroom!" Izaya smirked, but limped into the bathroom, jumping on the closed toilet lid. "Get on the sink." Izaya obeyed, growling loudly when Shizuo grabbed his paw and poured disinfectant over it.

"_Are you sure you shouldn't have been a nurse, Shizu-chan? You're soooo gentle!_" Izaya said through grit teeth.

"Quit whining, and tell me where we're going tonight."

"_To an apartment in Shinjuku!_"

"Yours?"

"_Well, supposedly._"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"_First, let me tell you that I'm the next victim!_"

"...What?" Shizuo looked at him with a furrowed brow, pausing in wrapping a bandage around the injured foot.

"_I know, flattering, isn't it?_"

"He knows that you're a fox?"

"_Of course not, but let's just say that a rumor is circulating the internet that Izaya Orihara is back in town, and someone just happened to leak his address._"

"No kidding...So that's what you were up to this morning?"

"_Mm, indeed._" Izaya inspected his newly wrapped paw and nodded in approval. "_But first, nap time. We've both had quite a morning, so let's rest up. Then we'll head out when it gets dark. Chances are, he'll strike around the same time he did last time._"

Around 01:00, they were ready to go. Shizuo decided to just dress normally this time around, dawning a coat as the temperature was rapidly dropping. With Izaya on his shoulder, they called a cab and headed out for the night. Oddly enough, it was the same driver they'd had last time. Shizuo turned a little red at the realization, wondering at the man's nerve. Surely he'd seen the news that morning, the last time. Maybe big tips seriously negated the fact that your customer might be involved with a serial killer. Izaya hummed as they settled in the back of the car.

"_Oh, look at us! Just two crazy cats out for a good night of fun catching serial killers!_"

"What nonsense are you getting at, now?"

"_That we are awesome, of course! Well, I am awesome, and my awesomeness rubs off on you._"

"The only thing you rub on me is black hairs. They're all over my clothes, now."

"_They too, are imbued with my awesomeness! You should treasure every one!_"

"You're a flea bag. How far away is your ficitional apartment?"

"_Closer, no worries._"

"It's not my money," Shizuo shrugged.

"_Ah, Shizu-chan's getting a little sassy! I don't know how I feel about that!_"

"Tch! Whatever!"

They had the car stop a couple of blocks away, and Shizuo grabbed a can of coffee from a nearby vending machine. Izaya clucked his tongue impatiently. "_Why does he always have to be so punctual? What time does the last shift at your bar end?_"

Shizuo checked his watch. "_Should be in an hour or so. Why?_"

"_It was about two hours after that the last time the serial killer struck. I was hopeing he'd grace us with his presence a little earlier_," the fox yawned, loudly. "_At least you have coffee, this time. Maybe you won't fall asleep on the job, again._"

They both heard the sound of wooden wheels and looked up to see the old gypsy woman rounding the corner. Izaya bristled, and laid his ears flat against his head. Shizuo patted him on the head. "Come on, Izaya. It's not her fault you're an asshole and some magical ball turned you into a fox."

"_I am so going to bite you_," the fox hissed.

"Try that stunt again, and I'll throw you so far, you'll be in China when you land. But seriously, she told me she tried to stop you. Why are you so mad at her?"

"_She should have tried HARDER! Of course I was curious! I'd heard rumors that she was in posession of something that could cure cancer, bring back lost puppies, even allow people to communicate with spirits!_"

Shizuo burst out laughing, much to Izaya's annoyance. "Ha ha! But it just turned you into a fox, eh? That's so dumb!" His loud laughter attracted the attention of the old woman, and she waved as she pushed her cart toward them.

"Izaya and friend! Why out so late? You no cause trouble, hmm?"

"Not at all, miss," Shizuo gave a little bow. "We're being very good. Aren't we, Izaya?" Izaya just laid his ears flat and looked the other way. "I apologize for his rudeness."

The old woman chuckled. "Is okay. Izaya, I sorry, too. I know it not easy thing to find. But you keep looking, yes?"

"_Rrrr, can you please just shut your mouth?_" Izaya growled. "_If you haven't found a way to change me back, then I don't want to hear your delusional banter, you dimented hag!_"

"Watch your mouth, fleabag!" Shizuo warned.

"Is okay, is okay," the old woman said again. "I sorry I could not help more. And now, it time for me to leave this world."

"_What?_" Shizuo and Izaya both said it at the same time, and stared at her. She chuckled.

"You know, I terrible fortune teller, but I think, maybe, my time here is over."

"Don't talk like that!" Shizuo sighed. "That's a terrible thing to say! What makes you think you're about to die?"

"_Yeah! You CAN'T die! You have to find a way to make me human again!_"

"Izaya," she sighed, "I already tell you what you need to know. No worry. You both stay together and you both be just fine, yes? It was good to meet you both."

Izaya's ears perked up. "_Shizuo, look over there!_"

Down the street, a shadowy figure was running in the direction of the fake address. "That him?"

"Probably. Let's go."

"Right! Bye, ma'am!" The old woman waved a little sadly at them as they disappeared around the corner. Shizuo ran where Izaya told him, and they were just rounding the corner to the correct street when the bartender ran straight into a familiar face, knocking them down and sending Izaya flying.

"Ow..." The man muttered, rubbing his head.

"Yoshi!" Shizuo blinked in surprise. "What are you doing out here? I thought you worked tonight!" He extended a hand to help the man back to his feet. Yoshi took it and dusted himself off.

"I could ask you the same thing! My cousin lives out here. Sometimes I visit him after work." Shizuo quirked and eyebrow at his coworker. He had on a tan coat, but the pants and shirt he was wearing underneath were both black. "What are YOU doing?"

"I uh...well...I was looking for someone," Shizuo fumbled as he lit a cigarette.

"Let me guess...the serial killer?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Just a hunch, eh?" The older man smiled, reaching deep into his coat pocket. Izaya barked.

"Shizuo! The gun!"

"Wha-?" Shizuo was startled, but instict told him to react. He immediately grabbed Yoshi's arm. The man looked at him in shock.

"Easy now! Hey, why so suspicious? I thought we were friends!"

"I'm sorry! It just doesn't add up. You being out here right now. I know you were planning on killing Izaya Orihara tonight."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Yoshi laughed, but it sounded nervous. "Wait, you think I'm the serial killer? Really?" Shizuo didn't say anything, and Yoshi laughed again. "Here," he raised his hands. "Search me. If I'm the serial killer, I'll have a gun, right?" Shizuo frowned, and looked at Izaya. The fox was studying the man in front of them with a small smile.

"_Don't bother. He's stashed it. But it's close by._"

Shizuo grabbed Yoshi by the collar, lifting the man into the air. "Look, punk. I know it's you. Just give it up!"

"Shizuo, I think you really don't want to make me your enemy," Yoshi's eyes narrowed, dangerously.

"I think I want to crack your frickin' skull open!" Shizuo growled, tightening his grip on the man's shirt. "Izaya doesn't even live on this street! What do you think about that? You've been set up!"

"You have absolutely no proof! Now let me go before I charge you with assault and battery. You really want more trouble with the police?"

"Argh!" Shizuo huffed, pushing Yoshi away as he released him. "You're a snake! You're worse than the people you kill, because you actually think you're doing good! You're sick, and we will catch you!"

"Who's we?..."

"I'LL catch you!" Shizuo roared in correction. Yoshi gave him a smirk.

"I think you're the crazy one here, Shizuo, and I honestly do feel sorry for you. Have a good night."

Shizuo heaved in anger as he watched the man leave. Izaya began clucking his tongue again.

"Would you cut that out?" he yelled at the fox as he lit another cigarette. "And just how long did you know it was him?"

"_Pretty much since I met him._"

"And you didn't tell me!" the bartender practically screamed.

"_Calm down, Shizu-chan. It's not like we had any actual proof. And besides, hasn't this all been kinda fun?_"

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" Shizuo threw his hands up in the air, completely at a loss. "Oh wait, let me guess, you just wanted to 'observe' how this would all play out, huh? You just wanted to dick around with me even though it meant more people might die!"

"_What a terrible accusation!_" Izaya gasped, but there was a hint of a smirk in his voice. "_I really did try to help you catch him! You just kind of hammed up the first attempt!_"

"You're the fucking same! You're just like everyone else! No, you're even WORSE!" Shizuo snapped his cigarette between his fingers and ground it out with his shoe. "You actually pretended to be my friend! I lost everything because of you! Because I wanted to help you!"

"_Shizu-_"

"No! You know what? Deal's off! I guess I'm just too stupid to keep promises!"

"_Shizu-chan, are you breaking up with me, now? What is it about today and break ups?_" Izaya laughed in a very amused way. Shizuo grabbed a pedestrian street sign nearby and swung it at him with full force. The fox barely lept out of the way, and the metal slammed into a brick wall, taking out a large chunk of the building. "_Fuck! Really? You almost killed me!_"

"I think that's what you want!" Shizuo smiled sadistically as he raised the pole for another swing. "Didn't you say if you couldn't become human again, you wanted to just end it? Well, I'm ending it!" The sign came crashing down again, Izaya barely leaping out the way.

"_You're going to destroy the city!_"

"Then just stand still!"

**BANG**

A shot rang out through cold night air. Izaya and Shizuo both looked at eachother. The street sign clammored to the ground, and they both took off in the direction of the sound. Shizuo raced out onto the ajoining street. "Oh no..." he gasped, seeing the figure of the old woman lying next to her wooden cart. Izaya was a bit quicker in reaching her side.

"_He didn't shoot her in the head...Must have been because it was unplanned...Call an ambulance!_"

"On it!" Shizuo dialed and practically screamed at the dispatcher. He hung up his phone and quickly knelt down to apply preassure to the gunshot wound in the woman's side. "Hang in there! You're going to be okay!"

"_You'd better be okay!_" Izaya's voice sounded completely panicked. "_You stupid human!_"

"Shut up, Izaya!" Shizuo growled. "Just go! Get out of here! Now!" Izaya laid his ears flat against his head, and looked up at Shizuo with a hurt expression, before bounding off. "And don't come back!" He yelled after him. "Stupid fleabag! Hey, the ambulance is on it's way, okay? Just hold on!" Shizuo tried to be encouraging, but he could tell it was a losing battle. The old woman was completely pale, and she coughed, her whole body shuddering, as blood began to seep out her mouth. Shizuo vowed he'd murder Yoshi the next time he saw him. Proof or no proof. This was all really his fault. But Izaya certainly hadn't helped...much.

"Shizuo, that...your name?"

"Yes, now, try not to talk, okay?" The old woman coughed again.

"Is okay...I know this would happen...Listen, I know you angry...but Izaya is good boy, really."

"You really need to be quiet, okay?" Shizuo tried to hush the woman, but it was no use.

"I know, otherwise...ball would have...done something much worse..."

"I've been thinking a lot about it. Part of the ball's magic is that it makes who you are on the outside reflect what's on the inside. Am I right?"

"When it serves purpose...Maybe..." She smiled, and patted his arm. "You very smart boy... Try to forgive him...He's still looking...for that thing..."

Shizuo couldn't help himself as the old woman began to drift away from consciousness. "What thing?"

But she didn't answer. The paremedics soon arrived, and after a brief statement from Shizuo, he was allowed to accompany her to the hospital. They performed surgery on her for 4 hours, but the doctors assured him that she would pull through. That was a relief, anyhow. He returned home in the late morning, utterly exhausted. His phone had been ringing nonstop. No doubt Yoshi hadn't shown up for his shift. Arriving to work that evening confirmed it. His boss was throwing tantrums when he walked through the door. Shizuo didn't know what to tell him, so he just apologized for not being able to cover it. He worked in a fog. Kadota and the gang came in, but he had little to say. Erica and Walker were content to ramble on by themselves, anyway. A week past, and snow covered the ground. Shizuo often found himself wondering if Izaya had found shelter somewhere, or if the stupid fox and frozen to death in a gutter. Much to Shizuo's annoyance, he found himself thinking about the fox often in general as the days slowly drifted by. He kept expecting the fox to jump on his shoulder every time he walked through the front door. He kept thinking if he looked under the bar, the fox would be curled up, asleep. He thought about him every time he drank milk in the morning, and he thought about him every time lay in his cold, empty bed. It was hard to fall asleep without the warm little ball of fur against his back. But Shizuo was pretty sure he'd made himself clear. After all, that fleabag had ruined his life, right? But the more time passed, the more Shizuo began to feel differently about the whole thing. He was so angry that day Hisa canceled the engagement, but really, when he thought back on his life the past couple of months, Izaya was the only thing that brought a smile to his face. Every now and then, he would visit the gypsy woman in the hospital. Her recovery was slow, because of her age, but she was going strong. She always asked about the fox, and Shizuo would just tell her that he was fine. He didn't want to worry her about it.

The same thoughts were occupying his mind one night, as he made his way home from work through the light snow. It was a dry, powdery snow, so his cigarette stayed lit.

A small click brought him out of his reverie. Shizuo's eyes blazed with anger at the person in front of him. "You!" he spat.

"Yes, me," Yoshi said, holding the gun level with Shizuo's chest, but standing far enough away so as to be out of his reach. He looked drawn, haggard, like he hadn't slept since that day. "You know how this goes, don't you?"

"Enlighten me," Shizuo growled, taking a menacing step forward. Yoshi backed away, placing both hands on the weapon.

"I'm sorry, Shizuo. I tried to help you. I tried to make you understand, but I'm afraid you just aren't what this city needs."

Shizuo threw back his head and laughed. "Oh please! You're just mad because I found you out! But go ahead and make yourself believe whatever you like! You're a dead man, anyway!" Shizuo spoke as he ground out his cigarrette. He leaned over and grabbed a chunk of the side railing along the street, ripping the bolts from the ground.

"What the hell?" Yoshi startled at the display, and before Shizuo could swing, he fired a shot. The man hadn't really taken time to aim, and the round went through the outer part of Shizuo's right shoulder. Shizuo frowned when he felt all the strength immediately vanish from that arm, and the railing fell to the ground. He could feel the warm flow of blood down his arm, quickly becoming cold in the freezing temperature.

"Bastard!" He roared. "You shot me!" He clutched his shoulder and glanced around. There was nothing else smaller within grabbing distance and not a person in sight. This wasn't looking too good. Shizuo figured his only chance would be to just rush him, and he crouched down at the ready.

"Ah, shit!" Yoshi shook his head as he took better aim. "This is my last bullet, too. Oh well. It's been fun, Shizuo." Just as he was about to pull the trigger, and Shizuo was about to lunge, they both heard a vicious snarl from the direction of their feet. Shizuo looked down to see something small and black fly past him in a blur, and less than a second later, Izaya had sunk all of his teeth into one of Yoshi's arms. The man let out of yell of agony, and desperately tried to tear the fox off of him. Taking the chance, Shizuo darted forward in an effort to pin the man's arms, but right before he reached him, in all the commotion, the gun went off. Izaya's body immediately dropped down to the snow, completely limp. With a cry of utter rage, Shizuo punched the man in the face so hard, his body flew all the way across the street into a building on the opposite side. He didn't move again.

"Oh, fuck! Izaya!" Shizuo quickly knelt beside the fox. The snow was quickly coating his black fur, and he could see a pool of red staining the whiteness underneath his small body. Shizuo frantically laid his hand against his small side.

"_Shi-Shizu-chan_," Izaya whispered, his small body beginning to shake. Not knowing what else to do, Shizuo wrapped his coat around the shivering fox tightly and dialed an ambulance. He wasn't thinking clearly enough to consider that they'd be very confused when they showed up and found that their patient was a fox. He hugged Izaya tightly to his chest, completely terrified that every shuddering breath would be his last. "_Are you hurt?_"

"I'm fine!" Shizuo couldn't stop the tears from falling. "I'm fine! God dammit!"

"_Heh...you cry a lot..._"

"Izaya! Why? Why did you-"

"_Shizu-chan...I wanted to tell you...that I'm sorry..._"

"No you're not! Shut up! You're never sorry! You're a smart ass! And you're manipulative! And this is all just another big joke!"

"_Ah...I wish...but really...I am sorry._"

"Izaya, don't!" Shizuo begged. "Don't talk like you're dying!"

Izaya smiled, as the light in his once bright, fiery eyes began to fade. "_Shizu...chan...is my favorite...neanderthal. Thanks..._"

"What for?" Shizuo sobbed.

"_Thanks...for being...a good friend..._" Izaya's eyes closed, and Shizuo felt his tiny body grow still in his arms.

"I-Izaya!" Shizuo choked through his tears. He buried his face in the familiar black fur, hugging him even tighter, completely overwhelmed with grief. What was he going to do? "What am I going to do without you, Foxy?" he whispered. "Izaya...please..."

As Shizuo slowly opened his eyes, he became aware of a soft glow. Looking down, he was startled to see the light was emanating from Izaya's lifeless body. Completely baffled, the bartender stopped crying and placed the fox back on the ground, still wrapped up in his long coat. To his amazement, the light kept getting brighter and brighter, until Shizuo actually had to shield his eyes to keep himself from going blind, as it engulfed everything around them. A large noise, like a clap of thunder sounded in his ears, and seemed to shake the ground he was kneeling on. Blinking in the cold night wind, Shizuo's sight began to return just as an ambulance and two police cars arrived at the scene. After a quick survey, they slapped handcuffs on the still completely confused blond man, and began hauling him to the back of a police car. Shizuo couldn't take his eyes off of where Izaya had lain, blinking at the slender, pale body now lying in the snow, covered by his coat with a shock of black hair contrasting deeply against the white landscape. He watched in a daze as the paramedics lifted the stranger on to a stretcher and wheeled him away. Was that...?


	4. Epilogue

_Oi, oi! I am sorry I disappeared for a week. Work is duuuuuumb, and that is all I have to say about that...Epilogue time! Yayz! Thank you to everyone who read this far. All of your kind words have pumped me up, hooah? ^^ Really appreciate it, and I'm glad this once upon a time, drunken whim has turned into something people actually like~. :D Thanks, guys. PS: Did anyone figure out what the secret was to turn Izaya back into a human? Was it TOOOO damn obvious? ^-^_

* * *

><p>It was dark. When the investigator shined the light in his face, it was still dark. They took his cigarettes; Shizuo didn't really care. They kept him up for hours on end, only offering bitter coffee and microwaved noodles for sustenance, and the tall, blonde man had the stomach for neither. After the police took him to the hospital to get his shoulder sewed up, Shizuo was immediately put under arrest for manslaughter and one count of attempted murder. He didn't resist, he didn't even protest. He sat there, mutely, while the investigating team hounded him night and day with questions.<p>

"What's the deal with this guy?" The chief of police thew a folder down on the lead investigator's lap. "I read his file. He's supposed to have a temper worse than the devil himself, but look at him!" Both men looked through the two way mirror and the dejected figure before them. Shizuo was slumped down in the tiny, metallic, fold-out chair, his head in his hands. "He's the quietest, most tranquil person I've ever seen! It's like he's drugged or something!"

"Yeah, he declined his right to a phone call, to boot. It's like he really doesn't care what happens to him at all. Kinda sad, if you ask me..."

"Mmm." The chief nodded his head in agreement.

"...Hey, Chief."

"What?"

"I don't think he's a killer. I don't know what happened, but I have a feeling he's innocent."

"Well, not much to do if he's unwilling to talk. We'll just have to wait for forensics to finish crime reconstruction. They're a little confused, themselves. Know what the report said? Said there was fox's blood all over the coat that guy who got shot was wrapped up in."

"No shit? That's fucking weird..." The cop looked at Shizuo again. "None of this makes much sense. That guy we found on the other side of the street had his prints on the gun."

"And there was no hole in that coat, so the other got shot before someone put it on him."

"So, Chief, really, this guy here," he pointed through the mirror, "was protecting the guy in the coat. Don't you think? If that's true, maybe Heiwajima is just depressed."

"We're not at liberty to inform him of anything outside of his charges. Could change his story," the chief mumbled. "Either way, it'll straighten itself out."

The investigator cleared his throat, and stood. He walked over to the small coffee pot and after pouring two cups, turned to face the chief. "I'm going to try one more time."

"Go ahead. I'll watch from here."

The investigator nodded, and entered the small, holding room. "Mr. Heiwajima, would you like a cup of coffee?" Receiving no response, the cop set the Styrofoam cup down next to the still silent man. "Look, I'm going to be honest with you, okay? I don't think you're the serial killer. Am I right?" There was still no reply. The investigator sighed. "We could really use your help on this, Mr. Heiwajima. The sooner you clear the air, the sooner you can go home. Tell me, you were just trying to protect that guy, weren't you? The one who got shot? Or maybe he was trying to protect you?" The investigator felt a small triumph when Shizuo's shoulders flinched. "In any case, can you at least tell us his name? You had another wallet in your pocket, one that belonged to an Izaya Orihara, but we can't find any information, photos, or anything for a positive ID match." Silence. "Look here, if no one comes forward to clear your name and you won't speak, you're going to wind up in a world of trouble, believe me!"

"I don't care what happens to me," Shizuo's voice was gruff and scratchy from not talking for days. "Just do what you want."

"I want to set you free," the investigator replied. "But you seem content to waste away here." Shizuo just shrugged. "Look, you don't have to feel guilty. If what happened was self defense, or defense of another, there's no reason to beat yourself up like this."

"I'm not sorry," Shizuo shook his head slightly. "I'm through being sorry."

"Well then, what's the problem? Why don't you want to get out of here?"

Shizuo lifted his head and looked through the inspector rather than at him. "Because there's no one waiting for me."

"How can you be so sure?"

"If there was, I'd be out."

"Well that's hardly fair. I mean, you haven't called anyone. Maybe they just don't know you're in here." Shizuo was once again quiet, and the inspector got up, shaking his head. "I think you're being foolish."

"I don't care what you think." The inspector nodded at him, and left him alone in the room once again. Shizuo looked at the cup of now cold coffee, and twisted it slowly back and forth on the table. He found himself once again trying to imagine the face obscured that night by his coat and snow. No image came to him, but the page of Izaya in his mind certainly wasn't blank. He did not know what he looked like, and he doubted he was still alive, but when Shizuo thought of the only one he truly considered to be his friend, he was filled with with a peaceful calm unlike any he'd ever experienced before in his life. Like a deep breath of fresh air, when he thought about the fox, the world seemed new and exciting again, overflowing with possibilities. There were no boxes, no social confines. When Izaya was with him, he always felt that anything could happen. In the end, Izaya had been right. It all really had been a lot of fun. But just the same, it was puzzling too, because really, he'd never met someone who could piss him off so easily. Yet, looking back on it, Shizuo was surprised he didn't recognize it before; that he was really only ever himself around Izaya, and now that he was gone, all of the light had gone with him. But Shizuo would never take back any of it. It was only because of Izaya that he could perceive how bleak the life he lived really had been. He felt the extreme pain of loss and an almost overwhelming sense of loneliness, but he was no longer blind to his own foolish ideas and standards; the ones he had previously let the world impress upon him. Shizuo would always be grateful to Izaya for that...What a flea bag...

"What's he smiling about?" the chief asked the inspector once he reentered the room.

"Hell if I know."

"Inspector Ryusei, there is a call for you on line 3," a woman from the front desk paged him over the loud speakers. The inspector walked to the nearest phone and answered it.

"Inspector Ryusei here, how can I help you?"

"Good day, Inspector," a smooth and silky voice answered him. "I have a testimony to give concerning the recent shooting and killing in Shinjuku last Saturday night."

"You were there when it happened?"

"Indeed I was."

"Why haven't you come forward until now?" The inspector was already angry. No doubt someone in the office had already leaked the details of the case, and this was a prank call.

"I fail to see how that's important, but if you must know, it's a little hard to speak on the phone when one is in a medically induced coma."

"What? Who is this?"

"Well I know someone who certainly didn't graduate head of the class!" The words were much nastier than the tone. "My name is Izaya Orihara. Now, be a good little civil servant and come take my sworn statement, as I am too indisposed to come to you. And would you PLEASE, for the love of whatever deity scares you on the path of the straight and narrow, bring my cell phone from the items you've no doubt collected as evidence from Shizuo Heiwajima's apartment?"

* * *

><p>A day later, the investigation was complete enough for Shizuo to be released from the station. The police let him use one of their showers and returned his clothes, which had been cleaned during his incarceration. The inspector returned his phone and his wallet, along with his cigarettes at the front desk. "I'm sorry your coat was beyond repair," he apologized, as Shizuo quickly put the items in his pockets. "It's still snowing."<p>

"It's okay. I'm not cold."

"Well, guess I should prepare you. You're gonna be stampeded as soon as you walk out that door. The press can't stop talking about you, and I'm sure they'll want an interview."

"Tch. I have other things to do. Maybe some other time."

"Ah heh..." the inspector shook his head at the naive, blonde. "That's not quite how it works. I mean, they're going to swarm you, block your path, and shove twenty microphones in your face."

"How do they know so much about this, already?" Shizuo ground out. "Aren't you people supposed to keep this kind of thing secret? Don't I have rights?"

"Well, it seems, your little friend Orihara decided to give you a glowing testimony. He called a news station and sang your praises for about a half hour. Now, every reporter in Tokyo wants an interview with the man who literally punched the serial killer into oblivion. On top of it all, Orihara told the press that you were a hero, and you routinely give half your paycheck to children's charities and rescue baby puppies."

"P-puppies?"

"Yes, I believe those were his exact words."

"That god damn flea bag!" Shizuo growled, but there was a smile on his face. "What else did he say?"

"Umm..." the inspector was slightly put off by Shizuo's strange look. "I think he said something about how friendly you are and how much you like to answer questions. He told everyone to thank you in person for tracking down and defending the city against such a villainous monstrosity, er, something like that. He practically told the world you'd be getting out around this time, today."

"Ha!" Shizuo threw back his head and laughed, putting a cigarette in his mouth. He stuck his hands in his pockets and headed for the door, but he paused once he caught a look of what was outside. Around a hundred reporters and more than a few civilians were there to no doubt "thank" him, as Izaya had instructed.

"What are you going to do? Wanna stay here until this whole thing blows over?" the inspector asked.

"No. I'm going to go pound that flea bag's face in," Shizuo shrugged.

"Wha? Why do you keep calling him 'flea bag'? I thought you two were friends or something!"

"That's why I'm going to pound his face in," a maniacal grin spread across the blonde man's face as he bit down on his cigarette. "It's my way of saying thanks."

"What about that?" he nodded his head to the window.

"They're gonna get out of my way." Shizuo opened the door and stepped out into the snow. He had just lit his cigarette before there was a yell, and a flourish of bodies surrounding him.

"Mr. Heiwajima, how does it feel to be a free man?"

"What went through your mind when Mr. Orihara was shot?"

"Did you know Yoshi Taketori was the serial killer?"

"Mr. Orihara said he once observed you walking across a lake to heal and injured swan, can you comment more about that, please?"

"Look," Shizuo brushed the microphones out of his face only to have them practically jammed into his mouth again. The flashes from the cameras were beginning to make him see spots. "You're pissing me off. Get the hell out of my way." His words didn't seem to make a difference.

"Do you have any comment on Mr. Taketori's death? You both did work together."

"How many puppies have you rescued?"

"SHIZUO, MY LOVE!" Shizuo's head snapped up. From seemingly out of nowhere, Hisa crashed into him, hugging him tightly. Shizuo was so stunned, his body went completely rigid, and he said nothing. "Shizuo! I can't believe you caught the serial killer! It's so amazing! You're a hero!"

"Excuse me, miss. Who are you?" one of the reporters asked.

"I'm his fiancée!" Hisa said quite loudly. This elicited many gasps and more pictures from the crowd. By this time, Shizuo had recovered, and after taking a drag of his cigarette, he picked Hisa up, bridal style, and began walking. The reporters made way for him, but continued to follow them a short way down the street. Hisa couldn't be more thrilled. "Isn't this fantastic, Shizuo? It's like a storybook! You wound up being quite exceptional, after all!" She continued to blab on, and Shizuo remained silent and kept on walking. "Mother and father are completely floored! You should have seen their faces when we watched the news broad cast! I just knew that I had to come find you right away, and-...Shizuo? Shizuo, what are you doing?" Shizuo had taken a slight turn down the nearest alleyway.

"Taking out the garbage."

With an elbow, he popped open the lid to the large garbage bin, and rather unceremoniously dumped Hisa inside it. The lid slammed shut as she let out an undignified squeak. There was a flourish of photos snapping, as microphones once again crowded his face.

"Mr. Heiwajima, does this mean you and Ms. Akiyama are through?"

"Isn't it true that she had previously dumped you?"

Shizuo tried to push through the wall of people, but they were unyielding. "Move," he said, flatly. They made no effort to comply, only continuing to pepper him with questions.

"Are you aware of the statement her father made to the press after your arrest?"

"Is it true you threw their family dogs? Do you only have a liking for puppies?"

Shizuo snapped his cigarette and let it fall to the ground. Stepping on it, he began to crack his knuckles. "I asked nicely, but you just wouldn't listen," he lamented, though there was an evil smile on his face. The media crew began to pale and back up slowly. "Since you guys won't move, guess I'll just have to clear a path for myself!" Without warning, Shizuo reached out and grabbed the nearest reporter, and with a twirl, sent him flying over the crowd. He then easily grabbed a nearby camera man, who was filming the outburst. After throwing his camera on the roof of the nearest building, he grabbed the terrified man by a leg and began swinging him around so that the rest of the people were forced to flee or else be knocked over. Shizuo laughed loudly, as he let go of the camera man, sending him into a pile of trash bags. The man gave a yelp, and once he had regained his balance, fled with the rest of the people now scattering in all directions. "That's right, god damn it! You'd better run!" He roared, starting in their general direction. This only made their fleeing more frantic. "The name's Shizuo Heiwajima! Don't you forget it!" In a matter of minutes, there was not a human in sight. Well, Hisa would have been if the dumpster top wasn't currently besting her. The blonde man listened to her frantic rattlings for a second before shrugging and walking on. After all, she had been to college. He was confident she was smart enough to figure something out...eventually. After lighting another cigarette, the blonde man was just about be on his way when he felt his pocket vibrate. Curiously, he drew out his cell phone and stared at it. It was from an unknown caller.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Looks like you had a party, and didn't invite me!" Shizuo's eyes widened at the all too familiar voice. "I understand, but I'm oh, so hurt!"

"I-Izaya?"

"Still, it was quite a show! Who knew neanderthals could be so entertaining?" The voice let out an amused laugh that made Shizuo's ears turn a little red, but he didn't feel that angry.

"Where are you, flea bag?" he demanded, peering at all of the buildings around him. "And why aren't you still in the god damn hospital?"

"Mmm, quick healer. Besides, how could I miss your grand reintroduction back into society?"

"Tell me where you are right now, you little punk!"

"What ever for, Shizu-chan? Don't tell me you actually miss me! Awe, I'm touched!"

Okay, well now Shizuo was angry. He clenched his jaw so hard, the other half of his cigarette fell to the ground. "So that's the way it's going to be, huh? You're human again, and you don't give a damn about anybody else! Why the fuck did you save me in the first place?" Shizuo practically screamed into the receiver and then shattered the cell phone in a fit of rage. "IZAYAH, YOU STUPID FLEA BAG!" he roared, his voice echoing in the empty street amongst the crowded buildings.

"Really, Shizuo..." Shizuo startled and whirled around to see a sight that brought such utter conflict to his brain, he could only stare wide-eyed, his mouth gaping. His eyes traveled over the familiar fur trimmed jacket, no doubt recently retrieved from his apartment, as a slender, white hand deftly snapped a cell phone shut, slipping it into a pocket, and quickly settled on a face he did not know. Smirking, reddish brown eyes gleamed at him, slightly obscured by black, shaggy bangs that framed a delicately pointed face. The smallest curve of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth, as he raised his fine eyebrows quizzically and inclined his head. He had somehow managed to walk within a meter of the blonde man without Shizuo hearing a thing and now stood with his hip cocked slightly to the side. "There's no need to yell. You'll wake the dead." Shizuo still didn't speak. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to believe the man standing before him was that same annoying little shit he'd practically waited on, hand and foot, the past two months. The same one that rode around on his shoulders and slept curled up next to him every night. The same one that had such an overwhelming fondness for sushi and cream. His eye caught the sight of white bandages peaking beyond the edges of the collar of the man's V-neck shirt, almost mirroring his own that were wrapped around his shoulder. Following his gaze, the faintest blush tinted the darker haired man's features. Shizuo's unrelenting stare seemed to make him a little uneasy, and he glanced about nervously before looking back at Shizuo through the corner of his eyes. "What?" he finally asked. His voice was a bit unsure, and he was unable to look the former bartender in the face. Trying to regain his composure, the informant gave a toss of his head, as a mischievous grin spread across his face, showing all of his teeth. "You like what you see, or something?" he practically purred. "I admit, my beauty is something mere mortals grovel before. No doubt you are-"

Shizuo didn't let Izaya finish. With one long stride, he had his arms around the smaller man and drew him close to his chest. Izaya went stiff as a board and his eyes were huge as Shizuo's large hand wrapped around the back of his head and gently pushed it into his shoulder.

"It's really you..." Shizuo mumbled softly, squeezing him tighter, though he was careful to avoid the place he'd been hurt. Izaya startled when something wet fell on his shoulder. "I thought...I really thought you were dead..."

Slowly relaxing, a genuine smile Shizuo couldn't see ghosted across the informant's face. He patted the underside of the taller man's elbows, lightly. "How could I die and leave such a hopeless neanderthal all by himself? Seriously, Shizuo, you cry a lot." Izaya laughed, deeply, and the sound made something in Shizuo's chest leap. The blonde man could suddenly feel his heartbeat in his ears, and he would have hugged him even more tightly had he not been concerned for his injury.

"Shut up, flea bag!" he grumbled.

"Ah! I'm not a flea bag anymore! I'm sure you've noticed a decisive lack of fur!" Izaya trilled. Shizuo couldn't be more happy as he held Izaya by the shoulders at arm's length and stared into his auburn colored eyes.

"You're right. You're just a flea, now."

"Oh, gee. That's moving up, I guess," Izaya rolled his eyes. "You're still a neanderthal, so that means you're still buying me dinner."

"Russia Sushi?"

"As if there was any other place." Shizuo just shook his head and began walking, lighting another cigarette. "We can't take the path that goes by the hospital, though. I think they've put out a search for me."

Shizuo threw back his head and laughed. Izaya grinned at him, but his smile quickly faded when Shizuo abruptly stopped, giving him a serious look. "Sushi first, then your skinny little ass is going straight back to that hospital to make a full recovery."

"Don't you think I'm old enough to-" Shizuo growled at him and Izaya abruptly cut off his sentence with a smirk. He remained silent for a few moments. "You know...this is kind of strange...I feel like I should be sitting on your shoulder."

"Yeah...Happy to be human again, I'll bet."

"Of course! But, you know? Being a fox isn't that bad when you have a gargantuan neanderthal to do all of your bidding."

"I only did it because you were cute...and fluffy!" Shizuo lamely defended.

"Oh my, you're about to hurt my feelings!" Izaya placed a hand over his heart for emphasis. "Is Shizu-chan saying I'm not cute now?"

"Damn straight!" Shizuo lied with a mumble. "What finally turned you back, anyway?" Izaya blushed slightly, and waved his hand dismissively before putting it back in his pocket. "Come on! You can at least tell me now that it's all done, right?" Shizuo pressed.

"It's a secret," Izaya winked, putting a finger to his lips.

"Why does everything with you have to be a god damn secret!"

"I just really can't see how it would benefit me in the slightest for you to know, Shizu-chan."

"Maybe it will benefit you if I don't pound your face in for not telling me," Shizuo smiled with his teeth. "You know, since you're just a flea and not all cute and fluffy anymore."

"Ah, does this mean our little shower-massage sessions have come to an end? I rather enjoyed those." Izaya gave a wistful sigh, still ignoring the question. Shizuo turned a lovely shade of red, which made the informant's eyes light up with glee.

"Oh yeah...Forgot about that..." The blonde man mumbled, suddenly overwhelmed with memories that wouldn't exist if he'd ever thought Izaya would really turn human again.

"Mmm, but you know...I could return the favor now." He held up his hands and flexed his fingers, suggestively. "What do you say to that?"

Shizuo gave a lopsided smirk, pushing his cigarette to the other side of his mouth. "Nice try, flea. You're still going back to the hospital after dinner."

"Humph!" Izaya tossed his head with a frown. "Why did they call you stupid, again?"

Shizuo smiled warmly and ruffled a hand through Izaya's hair. "Glad you're back, Foxy."

tHe EnD!


End file.
